An Apple A Day
by Delongbi
Summary: What happens when you put a psychic trainer, a criminal mastermind, a psychotic killer, and an Apple all in one story? An original trainer OC / OT story. Expect plotiness, randomness, awesomeness, and drama...ness?
1. Doused

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Hey guys. So today is September 13, 2010. I started this story in March of 2008. I am still writing it. I am warning you: my writing drastically improves after the first seven or eight chapters. Therefore, if you are even remotely interested in the story's concept for the first few chapters, I encourage you to stick with it, at least until chapter nine (my labeled chapter nine, not fanfiction's). If you're still not interested, then I apologize for failing you.

Recently, fanfiction has kind of flipped out on me. All the formatting changed. Now I have to go back and clear up where point of view and time changes are because my old indications no longer show up. I apologize for any confusion there is until these changes are cleared up.

Here's how it is going to go:

_Italics_ indicate a memory, dream, or vision.

{} indicate telepathy.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ will be the beginning of any author's notes.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}} will be the end of any author's notes.

o o o o o o o o o o o o will indicate a change in point of view

/ / / / / / / / / / will indicate a change in time

I'd like to thank all my reviewers and apologize for all of the answered reviews I am going to have to wipe out as I make formatting changes. Thanks guys for sticking with this! Enjoy!

Please visit my homepage to access a link to the MAP OF ACCEBER.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Prologue: Doused

_Dark thunderclouds hovered over the usually serene town of Melonbi. A pale young girl, about seven years old, stumbled through the light drizzle, frantically trying to get to her house before the storm. In her rush, she was unaware of the dark figure raging in an intense battle ahead of her until she, quite literally, collided with him, and knocked them both into the sticky mud._

_For a second, the man in the dark uniform was stunned. Then, angrily lifting his mud soaked body from the ground, he shouted, "Hey! Brat, watch where you're going!"_

_"S-s-sorry Mr." The young girl trembled. "I didn't mean—"_

_"Charizard, quickly, finish it before it starts to rain too hard," the man yelled, pushing the girl aside and returning his attention to the battle. "I'll grab the psychic-proof net, just keep that fire going!"_

_The man scrambled toward his backpack, about twenty yards from where he had been previously standing. The young fallen girl peered after him and then glanced at the large red monster spurting fire from its mouth. It was clearly exhausted, and the rain was not helping this fire Pokemon. The girl could tell it had undergone an intense battle and curiously looked for the opponent. She caught sight of a small figure in the flames protecting itself with a weak psychic barrier, too weak to move itself from the blaze. The girl felt pity for both creatures, one being commanded to attack under such harsh conditions, the other just trying to protect itself. She wished to help both, but knew she could not possibly help the attacker, for it already had an owner. The girl glanced back at the man. He had reached his equipment and was now fiddling with something, though the girl could not see what through the thick rain._

_Suddenly, the girl heard a sharp gasp and then a thud. The girl snapped her head away from the strange man to see the giant dragon Pokemon fainted in the mud next to a smaller, pinkish brown Pokemon. Throwing a nervous glance back at the man, the mud-covered girl staggered toward the two fallen creatures. The small pink Pokemon had not yet fainted and was shivering helplessly in the mud. The girl could now see that the brown on the creature was just disgusting wet dirt and burnt fur. Scooping the pink Pokemon into her arms, the girl frowned sadly at the giant fire Pokemon, wishing there was something she could do. She then saw that the man was running back towards her and the Pokemon. Taking one last glance at the Charizard, the girl turned and fled, cradling the pink Pokemon in her arms. Panting, the girl finally reached her small house. As she climbed through the door, she thought she could hear a scream of agony in the distance. The girl shuddered and went inside. _


	2. Welcome to My Life

Chapter 1: Welcome to My Life

Bright light streamed into my eyes as someone pulled up the blue curtain that had previously blocked out the morning sun and my consciousness.

{Rise and shine, my friend,} said a slightly sarcastic voice... in my head.

I rolled over and plunged my head, face-down, into my pillow, contemplating my dream. That had to be the thousandth time I had the dream; it has haunted me from the day it actually occurred six years ago. I, of course, was the young terrified girl in the dream, and the Pokemon, well that was—

{Come on, get up! Today's our big day!}

—yes, that was the psychic Pokemon, Mew.

"Okay, okay, I'll be up in a minute Apple," I muffled through my pillow.

Apple was what I named the young Mew I rescued that stormy day because its burnt fur matched the color of the apple trees that grew in my backyard. I wish I could say we had been friends from the day we met, but that would be lying.

When I had first brought Apple home that rainy afternoon, I was scared my mother would not let me keep the wild Pokemon in the house. Ever since my dad left….well, she hasn't quite been herself.

My mother was always a clean lady, but after my dad abandoned us, she would not tolerate a speck of dirt anywhere. She took to cleaning whenever she became nervous or stressed. She would certainly not tolerate a wild dirty creature that might mess up her precious house.

Thus, I was forced to nurse Apple back to health by stealing old burn heals and half-used potions from my mother's medicine cabinet. She hadn't thrown out the leftover Pokemon medicine from the days my father lived with us and trained Pokemon.

I kept the small pink creature in a box under my bed. The Mew seemed to dislike me at first. It glared up at me with those violet distrustful eyes when I fed it medicine. A few times I found the box empty, but the Mew always returned more sickly-looking after these instances. The Pokemon was too weak to go far, and had nowhere else to turn for help.

By the time Apple was back to full health, I had earned the Pokemon's trust. We became friends and played together. The first time the Mew spoke psychically to me, I nearly fainted in shock. It took me a while to get used to having the Pokemon in my head.

I eventually decided it was safe to tell my mom about my pink friend, but when I tried to show her, Mew was nowhere to be found. Similar occurrences happened when I tried to show Mew to my friends. At the time, I did not understand why Mew did not want to be seen. Apple had to explain that an angry man was trying to capture it and it was trying to stay hidden from this person.

_{You see,} the small creature told me. {I am a very rare Pokemon containing power I don't even know how to use yet! I was born only two years ago, from the ashes of my father Mew. I don't have enough power to be able to defend myself from the angry man.}_

"What do'ya mean ashes?" I questioned, confused.

{When a Mew is 5,000 years old, it dies, and from its ashes, rises a new Mew,} the pink creature explained.

"If you're only two years old, how do you even know that?" I asked, bewildered.

The Mew shrugged. {I guess I was born knowing that. But that's not the point. The point is I can't be seen by anyone because they might want to capture me for my power, or worse, they know the angry man! I'm not strong enough to protect myself! I need to hide myself from the world!}  
_  
I asked Mew, "Well, why don't you just put on a disguise to hide? That's what all the people do in the movies." _

And that was how Apple learned how to transform into different Pokemon.

After that, Apple came with me to school everyday, and I had a Pokemon just like every other kid. As I mentioned, my mother dislikes Pokemon for their dirtiness. So, though every other kid in school had a creature as a friend, I did not have one until Apple came along, and even Apple did not qualify for some of my classmates. For one, I did not actually have a Pokeball for Apple because Apple refused to be held captive in such a devise, and I refused to capture it. Why would you want your friend kept cramped in a small uncomfortable space anyway?

Apple also did not qualify to some...well, to put it nicely, irritating _companions_ because Apple never came to school in the same form... so the other kids in school never thought Apple was the same Pokemon. One day Apple would pretend to be a Rattata, and the next it would be a Spearow. Apple always picked small, common Pokemon so it would not draw attention to itself.

Anyway, these fellow classmates liked to pick on me before I had a Pokemon, and they continued to do so when seemingly different Pokemon came with me to school every day. One boy and girl in particular, Reece Annnoyingface and Carly Iwantoslapyou (ok, so that's not their real last names, but they fit really well!), called me some rude, and sometimes unusual, names.

"Poke-lacker!"

"Wildgirl!"

"Crazy-lady!"

"Swicheroo-magoo!"

Like I said, some of the names they came up with were... creative. Well this name-calling business went on for quite some time, and I really did not mind because I ignored them… for the most part. Every once in a while my anger overcame my rational mind and I ended up tackling Carly or Reece to the floor and getting detention. But, that only happened once every other week... or day.

I REALLY only started minding the name-calling when my mom found out about these names, which eventually lead to her discovery of seemingly random Pokemon following me to school. Disliking wild Pokemon, my mother insisted that I stop allowing these Pokemon to follow me. Well, I did not want to be split from my friend, so Apple and I came up with two solutions. We either—

A) had to make Reece and Carly tell my mom that they made the whole thing up and that Pokemon really didn't follow me to school every day (yeah right) or

B) Apple had to pick a form, and I had to convince my mom to let me keep and train a Pokemon.

Since choice A really was not possible, I had to persuade my mom to allow a Pokemon to stay in our house and come to school with me everyday. This task was not actually as hard as I initially believed it to be, for after I mentioned that the dirty wild Pokemon would continue to follow me until I had a trained Pokemon to protect me (so I lied just a little bit), she happily allowed me to keep one Pokemon.

Now the only question was what Pokemon Apple would take the form of. I left that up to Apple; after all, it was Apple's body. Apple, in the end, decided to take the form of Eevee because Eevee could evolve (well, pretend to evolve) into many different types, and therefore Apple had many options. As the Acceber region's mascot, Eevees also happened to be a common starting Pokemon so it wasn't unusual.

Thus, from that day forth, Apple, as an Eevee, came to school with me, and played with me, and once in a while, battled with me (it is forbidden to battle at school, but I don't believe that such rules apply to people like Reece and Carly), waiting for that special day to come, the day Apple and I could leave school and home behind and go on out own journey. That day is—

{Today! Wake up sometime today! Come on, get up already!}


	3. Typically Atypical

Chapter 2: Typically Atypical

I had reached the limit of Apple's patience. The Mew disguised as an Eevee used its telekinetic powers to pick me out of my soft bed and toss me onto the ground.

{Drat, I was aiming for the stairs. Oh well, at least you're up!} Apple's excited tone clashed with my usual sleepy thoughts. It made my head hurt.

I groaned and slowly picked up my battered body from the floor. After much of Apple's excessive encouragement, I eventually got dressed and soon found myself staring out the window at the beautiful country of Acceber. My town, Melonbi, was just the small northern tip of the large island. Even from this window, I could see beyond the grassy plains of Melonbi Town to the distant townhouses of Azul City and their reflections in Peepin Pond. It was a beautiful sight. The lush green grass glittered under the bright blue sky, making the scene brilliant in color. If one looked closely, small shimmers of movement could be seen in the taller, golden grass from Pokemon bustling about on this gorgeous day.

I peered closer at the window to inspect my own reflection. My usually straight, dark brown hair was slightly crumpled from my uneasy sleep, so I flipped it back into a ponytail. I stared once more into the clear glass, only to be stared back at by the reflection of my violet eyes. Apple had told me that purple eyes were a sign of a psychic, but if I had any psychic powers, they had yet to reveal themselves. Then again, Apple may have thought this because its eyes were purple as well. Even when Apple transformed into other Pokemon, its eyes contained a slightly violet hue.

"Alright, I'm ready to go." I sighed and turned away from the window. I grabbed my pack of supplies, and my elated Eevee jumped into my arms as I stumbled down the stairs.

"Happy birthday, honey!" my mother exclaimed when I reached the bottom step. After a moment of hesitation from seeing the Eevee in my arms, she thrust her arms around me and Apple.

I was taken by surprise. My mom usually refused to even look at Apple, and to touch the cute little Pokemon was unthinkable. I started, "Mom, what has—"

"Sweetie, I'm s-s-s-so proud of you," she spattered tearfully. "Though I initiall-ly didn't want you to g-go on this quest for P-P-Pokemon..." She stopped, shuddered and took a deep breath, "Now you are thirteen, old enough to make your own d-decisions, and decide what-what is b-best for yours-s-self."

At this point, my mom broke down crying, and I hugged her, trying to provide some comfort. "Don't worry mom, I'll be fine," I told her with a confident tone, but she continued sobbing. "Mom," I tried again. "in the old days, children left home to start on their journeys when they were ten years old. They've changed the laws recently, but the point is they were fine, and I'm three years older than they were! I will be okay. You don't have to stress over it."

My mother chuckled sorrowfully, "I guess it is kind of silly for me to-to-to... I don't want to lose you after…" My mom stopped, took a deep breath and locked her cerulean eyes with mine. "Take care of yourself, I'll miss you." My mom prepared to bear-hug me again, and disliking its first hugging experience, Apple jumped out of my arms just in time.

After releasing me from her grasp, my mother hurriedly fished for something in her pocket.

"These are for you," my mother quietly murmured, pressing five Pokeballs into my hand. For a second, I stared at her hand, shocked that she would give me such a present. Then I quickly recovered, pocketed the Pokeballs, and pulled her into yet another hug.

"Thanks mom. I'll miss you too," I whispered. "But really, don't worry; I'll be back in no time." Then I turned away from my sobbing parent and headed for the door.

{That was touching,} Apple said smugly while following me through the door.

I didn't reply. Instead, climbed down the pearl-white front porch stairs and mounted my bike. Taking only one quick glance back, I started pedaling south toward Azul City. As I rode away from my home, I could hear my mom shouting goodbyes, and of course, that little psychic voice—

{Hey, wait for me!}

I pedaled faster.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

By late afternoon, I had finally forgiven Apple for its sarcasm and let the little Pokemon into the stupid-looking basket attached to the front of my well-worn bike.

{This _thing_ makes me look like I'm some sort of oversized, poorly wrapped traveling gift basket,} Apple complained.

"Well, you would still be chasing the bike looking like a crazy rampant bunny if I hadn't let you back on the bike," I shot back in a raspy voice and then inhaled sharply. I was tired from a long day of non-stop cycling.

{Humph...} the violet-eyed Eevee growled, turning in its oversized gift basket to face the faraway city. Despite traveling most of the day through the great grassy plains, we were not even halfway to Azul City. We had encountered very few wild Pokemon, only a few scampering Rattatas trying to avoid getting run over by my strange looking bike and the crazed Eevee in close pursuit.

{Can we stop soon?} Apple whined. {It's dinner time and I'm hungry.}

I sighed, irritated, and glanced around the flat grassland looking for a place to stop. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky a pale blue. The loss of light made it harder to see into the distance, though I could make out a large mansion on the horizon. The great mansion was too far away for us to stop at for the night, but I spotted a lone tall oak only a few hundred yards away.

"There. See that tree? We'll stay over there for the night," I panted.

I hurriedly pedaled toward the oak tree, my feet pounding from the long day's journey. The pedaling only got harder as I neared the tree. The long, stringy grass seemed to become longer and stringier, constantly trying to tangle my feet in its wispy grasp. Finally reaching the tree, I stumbled off the bike and fell to the ground as my knees buckled in exhaustion.

"Man, I had no idea cycling was this tiring," I mumbled, massaging my legs.

{Come on, I'm hungry! Let's eat dinner!} Apple demanded, nosing the pack.

I reached over the disguised Mew and snatched two loaves of bread, two granola bars, and two apples from the bag.

{Aww, is this all we get for dinner? I already miss your mom's specially baked potatoes and grilled steak...} Apple squawked. The fluffy Pokemon eyed me slyly, trying to push me to lose my temper.

"Mom wouldn't let you have that stuff! You've never even tried it!" I exclaimed, ignoring Apple's poor attempt to anger me.

{That's what you think.} Apple smirked.

After the meal, I decided we needed to do some training. Apple was so _very pleased_ with this idea.

{WHAT? I just chased your bike for half a day and now you want me to train!} the Pokemon angrily hollered.

"We have to start some time, and you need to learn to battle in this form and your true form," I replied, rubbing my head.

{Fine, but if I have to train my powers, then you have to train yours.}

"I don't have any powers!"

{If you have purple eyes, you have psychic powers! Don't you read any books? Every person with purple eyes is a psychic!}

"Whatever. I'll do your training if it makes you do yours," I retorted.

For the next half an hour, I had Apple work on simple techniques like tackle, bite, sand-attack, and quick-attack. By the time we finished with this training, the area looked like thirty Tauros had trampled the area. Broken rocks were sprawled around bent grass and small chips of bark. Satisfied, we moved on to a more complicated move – dig.

{Eww. I don't wanna get my paws dirty!} the Eevee protested.

I sighed. "This move will come in handy if you want to surprise your foes. You should want to learn it."

{I like learning new moves as long as they don't involve me getting covered in dirt.} The Eevee glared.

"You've never had a problem with dirt before! You're just tired. If you do this, we'll be done with my training for the day. I'll have you train as a Mew some other time."

Apple finally complied, and after forty-five minutes of rigorous practice, seemed to have the move down.

{It's not _so _bad after you get over the 'I'm trapped underground in a tunnel that has the potential to fall at any second' part,} Apple said sarcastically, still trying to shake the mud from its coat. {And anyway, now it's your turn to train.}

I rolled my eyes. "What do I have to do?"

{Just sit and relax—}

"I'd love to," I interrupted. I laid my head back against the tree, closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep.

{I wasn't finished! Take deep breaths and listen to the world around you. What do you hear?}

"Your voice," I snorted, peeking an eye open.

{Not funny, Miss Smartypants, but you have a point. Stop trying to listen to me, and listen to that patch of grass over there.} The Eevee pointed a paw toward a small spot of shaking grass.

I closed my eyes again, and after deeply inhaling, tried to listen to the bit of grass. I thought I heard a faint, {Honey, you're late for dinner again! How many times do I have to tell you—}

I opened my eyes in shock and shook my head. The voice _must_ have been my imagination.

{So, did you here anything?} Apple questioned, smirking.

"No," I replied defiantly.

Apple was still smirking. {I think we've had enough training for today. Let's go to bed.}

With that, Apple trotted over to the great oak and curled up beside me. I gazed in wonder at the peculiar Pokemon for a minute, then closed my eyes and was asleep before my head fell back against the tree.


	4. And Then There Were Six

Chapter 3: And Then There Were Six

"Master, we have finished," a voice said behind me.

I had been impassively staring at the blank basement wall. Now, I turned my swiveling chair to face the speaker behind the desk, though I could barely see him through the dim light.

"It has only taken, what, six years," I replied sarcastically. "My father would not be pleased."

"Your father is no longer here," the speaker retorted, smirking nastily.

That was true enough. My father had died of a heart attack four years ago, leaving me in control. Yet, as this assistant demonstrated, there were many who still refused to give me the same respect they had once given my father.

Instead of becoming offended, I calmly responded, "So, how did you manage to finally complete this horribly overwhelming task?"

"Well, as you know, for the past few years we have been developing ways to track rare Pokemon. We have recently discovered that all Pokemon emit certain auras specific to their particular species. These auras can be tracked by gathering the DNA of the particular species, and we have been rather successful in tracking numerous Pokemon. However, until now we have been unable to track one specific, important Pokemon, for this Pokemon contains DNA of every other Pokemon known to man." The man paused to catch his breath.

"Yes, I know about this mysterious, what do we call it, Pokemon 'X'," I muttered.

Ignoring me, the assistant continued, "Three weeks ago, one of our researchers finally located a strand of DNA specific only to Pokemon 'X' by intensely studying the DNA of Pokemon 'X' collected by your father six years ago. Over the past few weeks, we have been installing a device to trace this DNA, and now we finally have a machine that tracks Pokemon 'X'."

"So now we can track Mew," I murmured, turning back to face the wall in my swivel chair. "Let the hunting begin."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Something was not right. The air felt strange, as if it had changed during the night, but my garbled morning mind could not yet comprehend the exact difference. Eyes still tightly shut, I sniffed the sweet-smelling air as it lightly tickled my face but quickly sneezed twice. I knew what was wrong. The air was wet.

Finally opening my eyes, I groaned. It was raining, and my clothes were already damp. I peered next to me and found Apple was also just waking up to this lovely morning.

{Oh pooh, I'm wet.} The Eevee pouted as it began changing its form.

I stared blankly at the creature as its long ears shortened into pink stubs and its tail grew long and whip-like. As soon as Apple had transformed into its original form, it began changing again. This time its tail became blue and flat, and its head widened into a football shape with purple antennas sprouting from the sides.

Finally snapping out of my brief space-out, I glared angrily at Apple, who had finished transforming into a silly-looking Wooper. "What are you doing? Someone could have seen!"

The Mew sniffed and rolled its eyes. {We're in the middle of nowhere and its dumping rain. We are _obviously_ going to encounter other human life forms.}

"You never know," I defensively replied, "Plus, you'll have to transform back before we get to that mansion."

{What, are we planning on stopping there?}

"Nooo, I _want_ to travel in this weather," I retaliated, voice thick with sarcasm.

{You don't like the rain?} Apple smiled smugly. {I think it's rather nice.}

"Not all of us can transform into oddly-shaped wingless ducks that resemble platypuses with their faces smashed in," I grumbled, getting to my feet. I squinted into the distance and could barely make out the outline of the large mansion a mile or two away. Sighing, I picked up my bike and winced as I thought of the horrible discomfort my already tired legs were about to undergo.

"We had better get going," I told Apple as I glanced down at the rapid-forming mud. "If we don't leave soon, the ground will be too muddy for us to bike through."

{Can we at least eat breakfast first?} Apple pleaded.

I quickly rummaged through my pack until I found the last two pieces of bread. After stuffing a portion into Apple's wide mouth and garbling down the other piece, I pushed Apple into the bike-basket, mounted the vehicle, and took off at a rather slow pace.

The sticky mud attacked the bicycle wheels from all sides, constantly forcing the bike's speed to decrease. The mud only got worse as the light rain became a strong downpour, and within ten minutes, Apple and I were forced to dismount the bicycle and continue by foot. Though we were now less than a mile away from the mansion, the large house remained almost invisible to our eyes, hidden behind a curtain of rain.

As we wearily drudged through the heavy raindrops, I reminded Apple that it needed to change back into its Eevee form before we reached the mansion.

{Why should I change? This form is much more suitable for the weather,} the Mew argued.

"The people of Melonbi Town believe that I left with an Eevee as my starting Pokemon. If I were to encounter someone from Melonbi Town, or even someone who was friends with a Melonbi citizen, news would spread that I was not traveling with the Eevee I had started with, and people would become curious or even suspicious.

You once told me that there are people who are after your power. You used to be so fearful that someone would track you down… If you want to stay hidden, you have to appear in only one form, otherwise people may come to investigate," I tiredly reasoned. I had to make Apple understand the danger of morphing into different Pokemon.

{Pshht.} Apple blew off my warning. {I doubt the people who tried to capture me are even looking for me anymore. It's been years! They probably gave up long ago.}

"Yeah right! The man I found trying to capture you did not look like the giving-in type. The only reason he did not chase me after I ran away holding you was because of the heavy rain. By the time he found his Charizard lying on the ground, the heavy rain would have prevented him from seeing the direction I had run." I paused, reflecting on that terrifying memory, but then shook my head and continued, "Nevertheless, even if that man gave up, there are others who want that kind of power. There are always others."

{Like that team that has been on the news recently for stealing strong Pokemon?}

I looked at Apple in surprise. Apple had preferred to run around outside while my mom and I watched the evening news, so I didn't think Apple knew about the Glop'emm Organization. Members of that team had recently been on the news; a few members had been caught trying to steal a rare shiny Ninetales from the gym leader of a town southeast of Azul City called Tinted Town. Frowning slightly, I murmured, "Yes, like that team."

Glancing toward the mansion, I realized we were only a few hundred yards away from the grand, looming house. I could now see there was a dangerous-looking black fence surrounding the house. Through the downpour, I could also make out a twisted road that was weaved through the fence and ended suddenly at the hideous entrance to the gaudy mansion. I stopped suddenly, realizing how close to the dark house we really were. Turning my head to glare at Apple, I insisted, "Change back now, before we reach the mansion."

{Ok, ok, I will.} Apple scowled and changed once again into a floating pink creature and then back into a wet white and brown Eevee.

We continued dragging our feet, or in Apple's case, paws, through the brown slush toward the house until Apple suddenly stopped. {Did you hear that?} Apple questioned, eyes darting and ears twitching.

"Hear what?" I glanced around, but could not see or hear what Apple was referring to.

{This way,} the Eevee replied in an excited tone. It pranced away, angled in slightly different direction than the one we had previously been traveling. I quickly followed the leaping Pokemon through the intense water drops, halting only when I heard a low growl coming from the ground ahead.

"Apple," I nervously whispered. "What was that?" I peered toward the Mew, only to find the quick Pokemon had continued jumping forward. Following hurriedly, I squinted through the rain, trying to locate the source of the growl. I could barely make out two entities on the ground just ahead. One, probably the source of the growl, was a Pokemon, though I could not tell what type, and the other was a box that seemed, strangely enough, to be whimpering.

As I cautiously approached, I realized the growling creature looked startlingly like Apple; the creature was an Eevee.

Unlike Apple, its fur coat was tattered and drenched with mud, as if it had not been groomed in days. The creature was in an attacking position, its eyes flashing angrily at us. Peering past the Eevee, I saw it was standing in front of the strange box, as if it was guarding it. I inched closer to the Eevee and the curious box, and the Eevee's growl became a fierce bark. Suddenly, the creature pounced at me. I quickly dodged and backed away, stumbling over Apple, who had crept behind my legs to watch the scene.

"Apple, tell it we mean no harm!" I exclaimed, still backing away from the wild Eevee.

{I already tried. It's no use, it seems to distrust humans and Pokemon alike.}

"Well, do you at least know what's wrong with it?" I asked tensely.

{Yeah, it—} Apple paused thoughtfully, and then continued, {I know, but I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to find out yourself.}

"WHAT? This is not the time for silly games! I can't speak Pokemon languages! There is no way for me to convey the message 'Hello, I see you are distressed. May I ask what is wrong?'" I yelled angrily at Apple.

Apple grinned. {Oh, yes you can. You can use telepathy.}

"ARE YOU MAD? For the last time, I DON'T HAVE ANY PSYCHIC POWERS!" I screamed, causing both Apple and the other Eevee to flinch.

{Relax, relax,} Apple said soothingly. {It's really not hard. Remember how you listened to the patch of grass last night? This is almost the same, but instead of reaching out with your mind and listening, you need to reach out with you're mind and think a message.}

I opened my mouth to scream at Apple once more but closed it after deciding it would not help the situation. Slowly, I closed my eyes and tried to reach out my mind toward the creature.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

{That was out loud.} Apple rolled its eyes, and then suggested, {Try again.}

This time, I first listened to the Eevee with my mind, though I did not hear any thoughts. Then, I thought {What's wrong?}

{What do you care, human?} came a nasty reply.

Startled, I opened my eyes. Apple was smirking. {Told you so.}

After throwing a glare at Apple, I closed my eyes again and projected toward the Eevee. {You're clearly hurt. I can help you!}

{And why should I trust you?} the wild Eevee snarled.

{If I wanted to attack you, I already would have. I have no reason to want to harm you!} I paused to see the Eevee's reaction. When I saw none, I continued, {Right now we are just wasting time I could be spending getting you to a Pokemon Center!}

{Fine, but—} the wild Eevee was cut off as it fell to the mud fainted from exhaustion. Its breathing became shallow and its body twitched in its fainted state.

Apple curiously sniffed the Eevee as I peered into the box. I gasped in surprise at what I saw. Inside, there were four rather small baby Eevees, all appearing fragile and underfed. They shivered in their knocked out state, making the box quiver as I picked it up in my hands.

"So this is why that Eevee was so protective of this box," I muttered. Then I called out to Apple, "We need to get help for these guys fast! Let's take them to the mansion."

I clambered over to Apple and the wild Eevee, and added as an afterthought, "Anything else I should know about these Eevees?"

{All five of them are siblings. This one, } Apple nodded toward the fierce Eevee lying on the ground. { is a male about two years old. The other four in the box are from the same litter and are only about four months old. Two are female and two are male.}

"How did you know that?" I asked as I gently picked up the oldest Eevee in my free arm and placed him in my bicycle basket.

{I can smell it.} The Mew shrugged. {Oh, and one more thing; these Eevees were abandoned by their trainer a few days ago. That's why the oldest one was so mistrustful.}

"And you can smell that information as well?" I asked doubtingly. With one arm around the box and the other dragging my bicycle, I started once again to rapidly walk toward the mansion.

Apple trotted up beside me. {No, I found that out by telepathically asking the Eevee before you arrived.} The wet Eevee smirked. {By the way, _your_ telepathic skills are not all too shabby for a beginner, though there is no need for you to close your eyes when you communicate.}

I shot an angry look at Apple and refused to speak for the following five minutes it took to reach the gloomy front gate of the mansion.

Leaning my bike against the dark creepy fence, I gathered the fainted wild Eevee in my free arm and pushed through the menacing gate. A chill ran down my spine as I approached the tall rounded doors of the mansion. The bronze knockers on the doors were in the shape of roaring Arcanines that seemed to have abnormally long fangs. I examined the door for a doorbell. Upon spotting it, I asked Apple to ring it with its telekinesis as my hands were full.

_**DONG**_

_**DONG**_

_**DONG**_

The doorbell rang forebodingly. I patiently waited as the rain continued to patter down on my head. Apple shuffled its feet anxiously and pointed its ears forward, moving into an alert stance. The grand doors slowly creaked open and I heard a voice say, "How may I help you?"

Peering through the open doors, I found myself facing a well dressed butler. In one hand he held a tray with what resembled a cup of tea on it, and he had used his free hand to open the door. Behind the man was a great golden hall. Glittering crystals sparkled around small lights that were attached to the large walls, and a great twinkling chandelier fell from the ceiling. A large wooden staircase that possessed a golden railing made the vivid scene even more dramatic as it spiraled through the center of the hall.

I gaped at the amazing sight. Then, remembering the Eevees, I started to speak, "These Pokemon need—"

Something on the staircase caught my eye. For a second time, I gaped in astonishment.

"Carly?" I gasped, forgetting the butler entirely.

The figure on the staircase turned toward the door.

"Carly, what are..." my voice trailed off as I suddenly came to a horrible realization. This house belonged to—

"This is my house pea-brain!" Carly called from the staircase. The girl then marched down the rest of the staircase and hollered, "John, I'll handle this. Go serve my mother her tea!"

"Yes, ma'am," the butler replied as he scurried away.

I stared in shock at the approaching girl. She had brilliant blond hair that matched the color of the surrounding corridor. Her eyes were a dark grey, contrasting sharply with her light hair. However, the potentially beautiful effect was ruined by the permanent sneer the girl wore glued to her face.

"What the hell do you want?" the girl barked.

Snapping back to reality, I hastily replied, "Hey Carly, good to see you too."

"I asked WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" the girl yelled.

Backing away slightly, I nervously replied, "I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I found these Pokemon..." I stopped talking after I glanced at Carly's face and found it flushing a deep red, her eyes filled with intense hatred. She was staring directly at the hurt Eevee in my arms.

"How dare you... you... get them out of here..." Carly's voice shook with fury.

"Carly, these Pokemon are hurt! I'm sure you have some potions! Please, they need help!" I pleaded.

The angry girl ignored my plea and instead looked coldly at me. "Why did you bring them back?"

I looked at her, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"Last week," Carly sniffed and paused dramatically. "these Eevees... destroyed my life!"

I rolled my eyes at the drama queen. "What could five Eevees have possibly done to destroy your life? Did they eat your make-up or something?"

"No, even worse! They chewed up my very best ball gown dress!" Carly cried. I looked into her face and saw her eyes were actually full of tears. This insane girl was serious.

I was too astounded to speak so Carly continued, "Well, even though my Auntie gave them to me as an early birthday present, I couldn't have any wild _creatures_ ruining my outfits." Carly shuddered and then added, "Those Eevees were way too vicious to stay so I left them outside my gate two days ago. Now, you bring the devils back to-"

"You're the person who abandoned and nearly starved these Eevees!" I yelled angrily, "You kicked them out of the house because they ate a dress?"

"I was going to wear it—" Carly started.

"I DON'T CARE! I am holding five hurt Eevees that need help! Will you help them?" I screamed.

"Them..." Carly sneered. "They deserve the pain." The cruel girl then abruptly turned and slammed the door. This was probably a smart move, for if the girl had stood in front of me for one more second, I may have tackled her to the ground. I looked down at Apple, and found it was shaking in anger.

{Let... me... tear... her ... to ... pieces,} the Mew growled.

"I would let you if it were legal." I sighed and looked down at the shivering Eevees. "Well, we've got to get these guys to a Pokemon Center as soon as possible. We'd better hurry."

As we battled the wind and the rain to get to my bike, an idea came to me. "Apple, can you transform into Chansey? You could use Softboiled to heal these Eevees."

Apple shook its head, {I can't. In order for me to transform into a Pokemon, I have to have met one of their kind, and I have not yet encountered a Chansey.}

"Oh well." I exhaled wearily as we exited the dreary gates.

{Umm, Anita, how are you going to carry all of these Eevees to the Pokemon Center? There's no way they're all going to fit on the bike.}

I smiled grimly and pulled out the five Pokeballs my mom had given me. "I may not like it, and they may not like it, but it's the only way I can get them to the Pokemon Center quickly. If they wish, I'll release them once they have healed."

I then threw the five Pokeballs at the five Eevees. There was no struggle, as all five Pokemon were badly injured, and the Pokeballs quickly blinked red, signaling the Eevees had been captured. I gathered the shrunken Pokeballs into my pocket as Apple leaped into the bicycle basket. Then, after untangling my bike from the shadowy fence, I hopped on the two-wheeled vehicle.

"Let the pedaling begin," I declared, trying to force my bike to move through the mud.

Apple gave a quick psychic boost to the bike to free it from the mud. Glaring at the mansion we were quickly leaving behind, the Mew finally sighed. {Here we go again.}


	5. Legend by Legendary

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Seriously, guys, I apologize for my extremely awkward writing at the beginning of this story…

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 4: Legend by Legendary

My legs felt like they had been trampled by a herd of Ponytas, sat on by a Snorlax, and then swallowed and spat back up by a Swalot. After an hour of hard riding through the mud, I desperately yearned for a break. However, I knew there was no way I could stop. The Eevees needed to get medical attention as soon as possible, and even though Azul City was now clearly visible through the light drizzle, it would probably take me another two hours to get into the city by bike. I winced at the thought... two hours of throbbing legs...

{Hey Anita, we should use this time to continue your telepathy practice,} Apple interrupted my depressing thoughts.

"Let me think about that." I paused dramatically. "No." I didn't need my body and my mind suffering.

{You don't think _about_ it, you just think it!}

"Nope, sorry, can't do it."

{If you won't practice, then I'll... well I'll...} Apple stopped, unable to think of some horrifying threat to make me practice. {I'll stop talking to you for the rest of your life.}

"Sounds like a good plan to me," I retorted.

{Come on, you were speaking just fine to that Eevee a few hours ago! It's just as easy to use telepathy right now!}

"That was a high pressure situation. I had to use telepathy to help the poor little guy."

{Well this is a high pressure situation, too!} Apple whined jokingly. {You're not going to be able to talk to your best friend for the rest of your life!}

Still cycling, I closed my eyes and thought, {Fine.}

Apple smiled triumphantly, but then scowled. {You don't need to close your eyes when you speak mind to mind! I already told you!}

{It helps me concentrate,} I retorted with closed eyes.

{Well, you're _supposed_ to be concentrating on riding the bike as well as using telepathy. You need your eyes!}

{There's nobody around here, so I can't crash into anyone.}

{Well, actually...} Apple's thoughts seemed to drift, but then the Mew suddenly started sputtering angrily, {This is why they should teach common sense in school! Students learn all about algebra and Pokemon types but then go outside and bike around with their eyes closed and without a helmet. You don't need to be a psychic to know they're going to cra—}

{What are you talking about? There is nobody else around! I am not going to—}

CRASH

{Never mind,} I sulkily replied as the impact of the crash flipped me over the top of my bike. I landed face up in the mud, my backside completely submerged in the slimy dirt. Lifting myself from the squishy ground, I saw my bike had hit a girl about my height whose features were hard to make out, as she was now covered in mud as well.

"Umm, are you okay? Sorry about that... I guess I wasn't watching where I was going," I embarrassedly tried to explain to the girl.

{How could you watch where you were going with you're eyes closed?} Apple smirked. Apple seemed to have jumped off of the bike seconds before the crash and avoided the mud pit.

"It's fine; I was just about to head back to Azul City anyway." The girl got up and offered me her hand. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I was trying to get to a Pokemon Center... I found some hurt Eevees that need help," I explained. After using her hand to pull myself up, I continued, "I'm Anita by the way."

"Erin," the girl firmly shook my hand, "I'm an assistant Pokemon researcher investigating the effects of different climates on specific Pokemon. Rattata in this area, for instance, tend to have longer legs than Rattatas in other areas of Acceber. Their legs are probably more suitable for getting through mud than the legs of other Rattatas..."

I stared at the girl, stunned at her outburst, but the girl continued to chat about her research, oblivious to my reaction.

"Anyway," The girl snapped out of scientific mode and quickly threw a glance at my bike and then back to me. "I can get you to Azul City quicker than that bike could if you wanna a ride." Erin pulled out a Pokeball. "Come on out Griffy!"

A bright red light flashed and suddenly a yellow and brown creature with four legs and freaky looking tail was standing in front of me. "Giiraaaf," the Girafarig neighed. {Pleased to make your acquaintance.}

I threw a confused glance at Apple. {How does it know I can speak mind to mind?}

{You have purple eyes,} Apple snickered. I glared at the Eevee. {Ok, ok, fine. It doesn't know you can speak mind to mind. All psychic Pokemon can communicate with _anyone_ using telepathy, not just psychics.}

"Umm, are you okay?" Erin waved a hand in front of my face.

"Err, sorry, I guess I zone out a lot." I looked to see her reaction to my lame excuse, but she was already hopping onto her Girafarig.

"Hey, are you coming?" the girl coated with mud called from her Girafarig. The Girafarig was scrunching his nose in distaste of the mud his trainer continued to drip on him.

"Yeah!" I sprinted through the mud toward Erin and her Pokemon, who had managed to clamber out of the mud pit.

{Oh, Aaaniiitaaa!} Apple sang from the edge of the mud pit. {Aren't you forgetting something?}

Forgetting something? What could I be forgetting? I had my Pokeballs, my pack, and ... no bike.

I stopped running— an easy task when there is mud sloshing around your ankles. "Uhh, Erin? I can't come with you. I need my bike, and there's no way your Girafarig can carry a bike and us. Why don't I give you the hurt Eevees and you can get them to the Pokemon Center?"

Even though her face was covered in mud, I could tell Erin was staring at me as if I had just said the stupidest thing in the world. "There's no need for that. Why don't you just use a shbinker?"

I stared blankly at the girl. "What's a shbinker?"

"You know... a bike shrinker. A shbinker." Erin pleadingly looked for some recognition of this strange sounding word, but I was still thoroughly confused.

I shook my head, "I've never heard of it." I watched the girl quickly shuffle through her pack and pull out a strange dark green box slightly smaller than her hand with a white button on its side. I glanced at Apple questioningly, but found it was curiously watching Erin.

"Watch," Erin commanded as she pointed the green box at my bike. She pressed the white button, and after a sudden green flash, my dirty bike disappeared. Erin explained, "_This_ is a shbinker. It uses the same shrink technology as Pokeballs, but it will only shrink bicycles. I really can't believe you have never heard of them. Every trainer I know has one."

I smiled sheepishly as I climbed out of the mud pit next to Erin and Griffy, feeling relieved to finally be on hard, solid land. "Well, I just became a trainer yesterday so I am still learning... though I have never seen any of those shbinkers in the local stores. Then again, trainers rarely visit Melonbi because it has no gym so I guess there's no reason for shbinkers to be sold."

Erin pressed the green box into my hand. "You can keep this; I have another one. Now, hop onto Griffy and let's get going!"

{Careful of my tail, miss,} Griffy politely warned as I climbed beside Erin. {It bites.}

"Come on, Apple!" I called to the Eevee. Apple had been curiously approaching Griffy's backside, sniffing toward his evil looking tail.

{I wouldn't do that if I were you. My tail has a mind of its own,} Griffy warned once more.

Ignoring the warning, Apple inched a little too close to the tail and...

{Yooooowwweeeeee!}

Griffy's tail bit Apple on the ear. Apple pulled away, angry. Strangely, I thought I heard a voice coming from Griffy's back end say, {Delicious.}

{What was that for?} Apple spat angrily at the Girafarig.

Griffy turned its head toward Apple, {I _tried_ to warn you. I can't control my tail; it literally has a mind of its own.}

Curious, I listened psychically to the Girafarig's tail and surprisingly heard, {Ha, ha! Victory is mine! I am now one step closer to taking over the world! I have started by eating this Eevee's ear! Next I will eat the world, and soon I will control all! Ha, ha, ha, ha...}

Apple must have heard the tail as well, for it declared, {Griffy, your tail is insane.}

{Yes, I know that, thus my warning. Now get on my back before it tries to eat the rest of you.}

Carefully avoiding Griffy's tail, Apple leapt into my arms.

Though Erin could not have heard the dialog between Apple and Griffy's tail, she clearly understood the gist of what was going on. "You have a quite splendid Eevee there." The girl smiled amusedly at Apple over her shoulder. She then turned back toward her Girafarig, "Alright, Griffy we're ready! Now, use your agility to get us to Azul City's Pokemon Center!"

My stomach churned as the Girafarig accelerated to speeds I had thought only Ponytas and Rapidashes could run at. I nervously clung to the Girafarig's fur to keep from falling off and saw out of the corner of my eye the short sparkling grass speeding by. Apple seemed to be getting queasy. Its paws were dug deeply into Griffy's fur, and it was shivering slightly. Erin, however, was unaffected by this speed. She once again started to animatedly chatter about her research, oblivious to the distress of the other riders.

"So I told you I'm a Pokemon Researcher, right? I work for Professor Blubber of Cape Caution. You know where that is, don't you? It's at the northeast corner of Acceber, but I suppose you know that. Although you didn't know what a shbinker was. That was strange. Anyway, I just absolutely love my research! Pokemon are such interesting creatures, don't you think? I mean, who would ever think that such cute looking creatures could be so dangerous. Look at a Vulpix. They are soooo adorable but capable of destroying an entire forest with their fire! And Pikachu..."

Erin continued on about cute Pokemon, but I tuned her out and watched as Azul City got nearer. We were already at the outskirts of the city and were passing by some small homely looking cabins. I could now clearly see the city's grand buildings, which somehow gleamed despite the lack of sun. Azul City was one of Acceber's biggest cities and had some of the biggest shopping centers in the country. Though I had never left Melonbi, I had friends who had gone to Azul City for occasional vacations, and they always came back describing their vivid shopping experience. I personally thought shopping was overrated, though I could never tell my friends this. They would certainly drag me to the nearest mall, believing I must not be shopping enough to remember the truly _amazing_ sensation of buying crud I don't need.

Apple, who seemed to have turned a pale shade of green, interrupted my thoughts. {Are we almost there? I think I'm going to puke...}

{Just hold on a few more minutes,} I replied, trying not to reveal my own discomfort.

"Hello? Anita, did you hear me?" Erin peered at me over her shoulder. "I was just discussing your Eevee. I've never seen an Eevee with eyes like that. They actually match your eyes. Where ever did you find it?"

Still clinging for my life, I managed to mutter, "Near my house in Melonbi."

Erin still seemed completely oblivious to my tenseness. "Very interesting. Hmm... and is it male or female? Does it have a nickname?"

"Its name is Apple and... ummm..." I actually did not know Apple's gender. As a Mew it was genderless, but as an Eevee...

{You can tell her I'm a female... and ask her if we're almost there 'cause I think I'm going to barf soon,} Apple spoke queasily to me.

"...and she's a female. I think she's also feeling nauseous, so are we almost there?" I continued.

"Don't worry; it'll only be a few more minutes. Look, we're almost in the actual city. The Pokemon Center is just beyond those buildings." Erin nodded toward the tall buildings ahead. We had finally reached civilization. Cute shops and restaurants lined the road we were now traveling on. In this outskirt of the city the road was fairly empty so Griffy could continue running at a high speed. However, I could see Griffy was going to have a harder time maneuvering the streets of ahead, as they were flooded with busy shoppers, tourists, and businessmen.

{Hey, Apple?} I looked down at the Mew. I had a curious question.

{What?} Apple replied, irritated.

{Are you actually a female in that form? I mean physically... inside and out?}

{Yes. If you took a piece of my fur and examined the DNA, it would match that of a female Eevee.}

{Could you be a male Eevee if you wanted to be?}

{Now I could. Before I had only seen a female Eevee, so I could only transform into a female.}

{Apple?}

{WHAT?}

{You're a strange creature.}

{Thanks,} Apple snickered. {Now will you stop bothering me and let me focus on not puking?}

Griffy soon reached the mass of people, and sure enough, we were forced to slow down. People threw us irritated glances as we rapidly weaved through the crowd and cut people off.

One particular salesman who we accidentally knocked over started swearing loudly at us and sent out a nasty looking Cacnea to teach us a lesson with pin missile. Luckily, Griffy was able to throw up a reflective barrier and get away, though not without first trampling a juggler and ruining his skit. After much shoving, we finally made it to the Pokemon Center.

As we dismounted Griffy, Apple leapt from the Girafarig and raced toward the Pokemon Center. Erin returned Griffy, and we quickly followed the erratic Eevee. When Apple reached the Pokemon Center entrance, it promptly barfed right in front of the glass doors. Apple then turned and pranced back toward us.

{I was going to try to make it to the nurse before I barfed, but oh well. I feel much better now anyway!} Apple happily jumped into my arms.

A girl walked out of the Pokemon Center and stepped in the puke. She looked down at her feet, squealed, and stomped away disgusted.

Erin glanced nervously at Apple. "Are you sure _that_ Eevee is the one that's not sick?"

I laughed as we hurried through the Pokemon Center's entrance, carefully avoiding Apple's... present.

The Pokemon Center was plain on the inside. Clean glass windows lined the transparent entrance and made the building feel more spacious than it actually was. Pictures of similar looking red-headed ladies hung from the pure white walls and beneath these pictures were blue, plushy couches. To the left there was a beige carpeted staircase leading to the second floor where Pokemon trainers could stay over night. Directly across from the Pokemon Center's entrance was a counter, and behind the counter stood a pink Chansey and a red-haired lady that looked remarkably like the women pictured on the walls. Erin and I walked straight up to the red-haired lady.

"Hello, welcome to Azul City's Pokemon Center. I'm Nurse Joy. How may I help you?" the red-haired lady politely asked.

I pulled the five Eevee-filled Pokeballs from my pocket and placed them on the counter. "I found these Eevees badly hurt. Do you think you can help them?"

Nurse Joy nodded and picked up the Pokeballs, "I'll get these Pokemon cared for immediately. Hold on a minute." The nurse took the Pokeballs to a room in back and returned empty-handed a few minutes later. Apple and I exchanged nervous glances, but Nurse Joy smiled soothingly. "Don't worry; your Eevees are going to be fine. They just need to spend the night here, eat lots of food, and rest for a day or so. The eldest one should be completely fine by morning, but it may take longer for the other four to completely recover."

I sighed in relief, "Thank you so much Nurse Joy! I'll be back tomorrow morning." I turned to leave, but then realized I had nowhere to go. "Umm, do you have any available rooms left here?" I asked the nurse.

Nurse Joy shook her head. "I'm sorry, but as far as I know, all of the rooms are taken."

"Hey, you can stay in my room if you want!" Erin offered, "My roomie left yesterday to stay at her cousin's house or something."

Uh-oh. Did I really want to stay with this rather… rambunctious girl? But, I had nowhere else to stay…

Plastering a fake smile on my face, I gave Erin an energetic "Thanks!" My stomach rumbled loudly. I had forgotten we had not stopped for lunch.

"No prob." Erin glanced at my stomach as it made another strange noise. "Let's go eat a late lunch, shower, and then—" Erin gasped. I looked behind me to see if someone had passed out or something, but my attention returned to Erin as she excitedly squealed, "Oh boy! And then we can go shopping! Have you ever gone shopping in Azul City? We're going to have so much fun! First..." Erin grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the glass doors, still jabbering on. I was having Deja Vu; Erin was wearing the exact same overjoyed smile my school friends wore when they forced me to shop with them.

I sighed. {Apple, are you coming?}

Apple lightly padded after Erin and me through the Pokemon Center doors. {She better not snore.}

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

After many hours of being dragged through about a hundred different stores, forced into over three hundred outfits, and much "Oh, you should totally get that! What do you think of this?" I finally convinced Erin to return to the Pokemon Center. Apple and I wearily waited for Erin to find her keys to unlock her room.

"And could you believe that woman? Honestly, nobody would look good in that skirt. Ahh, here we go." Erin pulled her keys from the purse and stuck a particularly large key into the keyhole.

{You know, I don't think I've ever met a fashionable nerd before. She has a strange personality,} I thought toward Apple. I was getting better at this telepathy thing.

{Brilliant analysis. You're finally catching on,} Apple retorted sarcastically and rolled her eyes. As Erin pressed lightly on the key after turning it, the door opened up to a small homely room. There were two twin beds on opposite sides of the closet-sized room, and above one bed was a window that overlooked the Pokemon Center entrance below. Besides the window and a wooden door across from the window, the walls were bare. The door across from the window led to a small tiled bathroom that smelled of newly bought soap. An open book lay on the fluffy pillow of the twin bed closest to the door. I put my pack down on the other bed near the window and sat down.

"So, I've told you a whole lot about me," Erin started as she too sat down on the bed. "But what about you? I know you're a trainer, but that's about it. What do you want to do with your life?"

What did I want to do? What was my goal? Such a deep question from, ironically, such a shallow person. The obvious answer was, of course, to defeat all of the gym leaders and maybe participate in the Pokemon League Tournament like every other trainer. That, however, was not what drove me to become a trainer. Apple was the true reason. I glanced at the Mew and remembered it trembling under the Charizard's fire. I wanted Apple to be able to defend herself so she would not have to fear living in her true form. She could come out of hiding if she grew stronger; thus I must train her. If the Eevees accept, I will train them as well. Then they too wouldn't have to fear those who were cruel. Yes, I wanted to battle gym leaders to test the strength of Apple and the Eevees, not to prepare for some stupid tournament, and maybe one day they would have nothing to fear.

"Hello? Did you even hear me?" Erin asked in an annoyed tone.

"Err, I guess I just want to beat the gym leaders," I lied weakly.

{Liar,} Apple commented.

{Obviously,} I retorted.

{She knows it too.} Apple nodded toward Erin.

Erin narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Whatever you say. There's a gym leader in town you know; her name is Abalina and she uses grass Pokemon. I can show you where the gym is... well, sorta is... tomorrow if you want…

"Anyway, I'm going to go shower. I'm sweaty from running around so much to shop." With that, she got up, picked out some clothes from her pack, and went into the bathroom. This was her second shower of the day; the first being right after lunch to get the mud off of her body. Erin was remarkably pretty when she was not covered in mud. She had thick strawberry-orange hair, brown eyes, and sun freckles across her nose. She always wore the latest fashions, and though many boys attempted to flirt with her, she gave not one of them a single glance.

I sighed and stared out the window to switch thoughts. It was late, but I could still see people wandering through the streets finishing up some last minute shopping. Stores in Azul City closed very late, and most of the buildings still twinkled with light, indicating they were indeed still open. Apple leapt onto my bed and laid down beside me, resting her head on my knee. I stroked her ears, pondering thoughts of purpose and my life in general.

{Apple, why can I use telepathy with Pokemon?} I questioned.

Apple peeped open an eye. {That requires a long explanation.}

{If Erin takes as long of a shower as she did this afternoon, then we have a long time.}

{Hmm. I'll consider.} Apple closed her eye.

{APPLE!} I yelled in frustration.

{Fine, fine. I'll tell you. I suppose I must begin with the legend of the beginning...}

{Beginning of what?}

{Of everything. Don't interrupt.} Apple obnoxiously rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and began, {In the beginning, there was only the Creator. The Creator, obviously, created the world, the sun, the moon, the universe, and two beings to occupy this universe. These two beings have come to be known as Arceus and the Great Dragon. For a time, these two creatures roamed the universe together, exploring every nook of the Creator's work and enjoying life. But soon, Arceus and the Great Dragon grew restless and lonely. The Creator saw this, and granted them each, for a time, the power to create.}

{And what does this have to do with my question?} I interrupted.

{I thought you wanted your question answered so I was answering it. Sorry, next time you ask a question I'll go with my first instinct and ignore you,} Apple snickered.

{Alright, I'm sorry. I won't interrupt again. Please continue.} I tried to reply in a serious tone, but did not quite pull it off.

Apple stretched and smiled smugly. {I'll continue on two conditions. One, no interrupting, and two, I get to give you some more psychic lessons tomorrow and you have to listen.}

{Deal.}

{Well then,} Apple began again. {As I was saying, the Creator gave the Great Dragon and Arceus the power to create.

{Now, Arceus believed that the qualities of intelligence and power would allow creatures to live peacefully together and work out problems in a fair, smart manner. Thus, Arceus created Pokemon. He granted each species of Pokemon intelligence and specific powers similar to his own. Yet, to made sure there was a balance of power among Pokemon, Arceus created types, each with weaknesses and strengths, so no single Pokemon, no matter how strong, could become all powerful.

{The Great Dragon, on the other hand, believed that granting creatures intelligence and power would only create problems. He wished to create organisms that enjoyed life and did not have to worry about the dilemmas of the world. Thus, the Great Dragon created animals. Animals had instincts to survive, but lacked intelligence so they were never preoccupied with morals or laws.

{Arceus and the Great Dragon were satisfied with their work. For a time they enjoyed seeing their creations thrive and grow. But, as you should know by now, peace never lasts.}

Apple paused to let the information sink in… or perhaps to tempt me to interrupt again. I fought the urge and managed to remain silent.

Apple resumed, {Soon the Great Dragon saw that many Pokemon were using their superior intelligence to kill and consume animals for food instead of other Pokemon, and he grew angry. Arceus argued that the Great Dragon's creatures, with little intelligence and power, were simply inferior to Pokemon and thus they were prone to die out. This of course, made the Great Dragon even angrier, and soon there was a bitter fight between the two.

{The Creator saw that a compromise was needed to cease the fight. He told Arceus and the Great Dragon that all creatures deserved to live, even those that were unintelligent and not powerful. He demanded that the two of them work together to create a creature that would be able to prevent Pokemon from wiping out the animals while allowing both animals and Pokemon to continue living peacefully. Neither the Dragon nor Arceus liked the situation, but they dared not argue with the Creator so they got to work.

{The Great Dragon insisted, of course, that this creature be an animal, for animals had the disadvantage. Arceus wished the creatures to be both intelligent and powerful, but the Great Dragon countered that the creature would just be another Pokemon if it were both intelligent and powerful. In the end, the two compromised by creating a creature that was an intelligent animal, but lacked power, also known as the human being.}

{You still haven't answered my question. What does this—} I cut off Apple, still irked that she did not seem to be even attempting to answer my question.

{Hush. I'm not finished! Remember our deal!} Apple glared at me, and then continued, {As I was saying, Arceus and the Great Dragon created human beings so that both animals and Pokemon could live together peacefully. Arceus, however, believed that if humans lacked power, they would never be able to relate to or understand Pokemon. Being paranoid, Arceus thought that without this power eventually the Pokemon would be wiped out, not the animals. Without telling the Great Dragon, Arceus added a bit of its own power to the human gene pool so that one in maybe 10,000 humans would have a power similar to that of a Pokemon. Because so few humans had power, the Great Dragon did not discover Arceus's doings until much later, and by then the Creator had taken back the power of creation.

{To further ensure that life would be balanced between animals and Pokemon, eight humans were chosen to rule each region, and a handful of legendary Pokemon were commanded to guard these regions. Kanto, for instance, is guarded by Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, while Joto is guarded by Entei, Raikou, Suicune, Lugia, and Ho-oh. Hoen is guarded by the Regis, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza, and Sinnoh is guarded by Dialga, Palkia, Uxie, Azelf, and Mespirit.

{Acceber, however, is a different case. You see, Acceber was a bit of an experiment. Perhaps the Creator wished to test the ability of Pokemon and humans to work together or maybe there simply were not enough legendary Pokemon to guard every region. Whatever the case, Acceber was the only region specific legendary Pokemon were not assigned to guard. Instead, eight non-legendary Pokemon were chosen to guard Acceber from danger and rule along side the eight humans. These eight Pokemon were the eight members of the Eevee family; Eevee, Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, and Leafeon.

{To this day, the eight members of the Eevee family rule and guard Acceber alongside eight humans. The humans are nowadays called gym leaders. In every region, the gym leaders meet to discuss laws and protection of all living creatures. In Acceber, along with the eight gym leaders, the eight Eevee forms help make decisions.

{Since the creation of Pokeball technology, it has become traditional that the eight leaders of each region raise, train, and battle with Pokemon. Younger trainers battle their leaders to test their strength, and the leaders give out badges as symbols of honor.

{Now, as I mentioned before, Arceus put power in the human gene pool. This power is often referred to as the "gift." Like the powers of Pokemon, it can come in many different forms- seventeen to be exact. Each form of power corresponds with a Pokemon type and can have various levels of strength. A human with a weak gift will work better with the specific type of Pokemon his or her power corresponds with, but a human with a strong gift can actually have powers similar to Pokemon. For instance, a strongly gifted flying type human may have control of the wind, a water type may have control over water, a bug type may be a particularly skilled climber, and so on.

{Generally, gym leaders have some variation of the gift and I believe in Acceber all eight gym leaders are indeed gifted. However, gym leaders are not the only humans with the gift; there are others. Supposedly in times of danger, a gifted human will gather the guardians of the land, and together, Pokemon and human will overcome the threat...

{Anyway, you are one of the few strongly gifted humans, and your gift type is psychic… Congrats,} Apple concluded sarcastically.

{But I thought you said this was a legend...} I began doubtfully.

{The legends are true.}

{How do you know?}

{You can use telepathy.}

For a time Apple and I stared out the dark window. I heard the faucet squeak as Erin turned off the shower.

Apple interrupted the silence. {You have other powers, you know.}

{What do you mean?}

{You have other psychic powers besides telepathy. You are strongly gifted...}

{What kind of powers?}

{Well, we'll just have to find out tomorrow.} Apple smirked. She lifted her head from my knee and curled up at the end of my bed. I continued to stare out the window for a minute, but then quickly changed into my pajamas and climbed under the covers.

Confusing thoughts clouded my mind. If I was "gifted" then why hadn't anyone told me? Did most people know of these so called gifts? And the guardians of Acceber were all members of the Eevee family? Why did Apple tell me of creation and guardians anyway? She could have just told me that a select few humans have powers…

After a minute or so my brain hurt from so many questions. I closed my eyes and tried to empty my mind.

I had fallen asleep by the time Erin inadvertently slammed the door on her way out of the bathroom.


	6. Eevees 'Nuff Said

Chapter 5: Eevees… 'Nuff Said

A cluster of green dots blinked on the screen, but they were not just any dots. They were the key to our success. To my success.

I glanced shiftily at the door as the Master walked into the room... not that I truly considered _him _a Master. The boy glared at me as he entered, calculating. He was, as the saying goes, one smart cookie. That snotty teen had to be in order to have kept his position as Master for the past four years. This, however, did not change the fact that he was ten years younger than me and certainly a less capable leader than I could be... would be...

But nevertheless, this boy was the Master, the leader of Team Glop'emm. He had been since his father, the previous leader of Team Glop'emm, died of a "heart attack."

I smirked.

Heart attack, yeah right.

The death of the previous Master was not due to any natural cause; it was due to my brilliant plan. It had taken me years to develop and perfect a scheme that would ultimately end in the murder of our leader, but I did it. His death had to look natural so no one could possibly suspect me, the dedicated assistant, of murder. I was not going to spend the rest of my life in jail, as many members of Team Glop'emm have for other more petty crimes. I paid dearly to acquire the poisonous dart that triggered a heart attack when inserted in just the right part of the chest. Without going into too many details, after sneaking my way into the Master's house past all kinds of security, I killed the man with the dart in his sleep. Simple, but brilliant.

I palmed the Pokeball of my Hypno. The scheme would not have been possible without my beloved Pokemon. She had inserted the dart perfectly into the man's chest with her psychic and then had removed the dart when the man died so nobody could find evidence of a murder. The dart was so thin it did not even make a wound. The camera watching the man never picked up the thin dart moving silently through the shadows to kill the man. It was a perfect murder. A perfect plan... almost.

Now, don't be thinking that I am a ruthless, thoughtless homicidal killer. I do not kill without reason. This is in fact the only murder I have ever performed, and I had a _very_ good reason to murder him. There are some people in this world who are destined to be in control, to have power. I have no doubt that I am one of these people, and thus, I wanted to, needed to, and am fated to become the leader of Team Glop'emm. Any person who prevented me from fulfilling my destiny, such as the current leader of Team Glop'emm, had to be eliminated. Then I would take over. This is where my plan backfired.

I worked my way up in Team Glop'emm, from a lowly grunt to the Master's right hand man. Each Master chooses his successor and writes it in a will that can only be opened after the Master dies or retires. I thought as the leader of Team Glop'emm's most trusted assistant that I would surely be named the successor. However, the Master surprised me, for his will named his son, this cold boy standing in front of me, the next Master of Team Glop'emm.

The reason for this choice still mystifies me. I had been so sure that I would be the successor. I had all the right qualities. I had acted so perfectly. That boy...

I clenched my fists. He had ruined my plans of becoming the leader. He would pay. One day.

The cold boy turned his head to me and looked at me with those luminous, frozen eyes.

After a second of awkward silence, the boy spoke tauntingly, almost in a whisper: "Please explain."

I was confused for a moment until I realized he was referring to the flashing green dots on the screen.

"I thought you knew everything," I retorted snobbishly.

The boy waited unemotionally. This must be very important to him, otherwise he would have replied with a threat to demote me or punish me for my rudeness. I decided to explain. Despite my disgust with this horrid boy, he still was the Master. Though I do not treat him with respect, he saw my supposed dedication to his father, and my dedication to the team now. I have no doubt that he has named me his successor, and I plan to keep it that way. Rude as I may be, he knows that nobody else in Team Glop'emm has the craftiness, experience, and dedication needed to be an effective leader.

To become leader, I just needed to find a way to eliminate him. I could not use the same method I had used on his father. It could not work on this boy. He was... special.

The boy cleared his throat, still waiting.

"_Master_," I started with a derogatory tone. "The device picked up signals of Pokemon X in Acceber for a brief time yesterday. The area the signals came from is represented by the green dots on the screen."

The boy narrowed his eyes toward the screen. "In between Melonbi Town and Azul City? Isn't that where my father found this same Pokemon?"

"Yes, sir," I replied in a genuinely serious voice. "Well, nearly. However, we have a strange issue. The signals were only up picked twice for a few seconds — once at 10:33 a.m. and once at 11:54 a.m."

The boy turned toward me. "And do you know why these signals were not received for a long, continuous time?" The boy asked the question as if he already knew the answer.

"We have some theories–"

The young Master interjected. Clearly, his question was supposed to be rhetorical. "The signals were only picked up for a short amount of time because Pokemon X was only there, in its true form, for a short amount of time. It either transformed into another Pokemon, or teleported to another region."

I rolled my eyes. "If that is the case, then I don't see how this machine can possibly help tracking Pokemon X. As soon as we locate Pokemon X, it will have teleported or transformed."

The boy thought a moment. "We will see about that. Are there any residencies near the area Pokemon X appeared in?"

"One. An old mansion. The rich Goldenthrills live there."

The boy smirked, "Send one of our members in Azul City to the area. I think we must go pay the Goldenthrills a visit."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"GOOOOOOOODMOOOOOORNIING ANITA!"

I leaped out of bed at the sudden wake-up call.

"Where's the fire?" I asked stupidly.

"There's no fire, silly," Erin said, grinning madly. "Come on, get up. I want to show you where the gym is, and then I have to pay a visit to the Azul City Research facility."

Why the heck did she have to wake me up? I looked at the clock sitting on the nightstand beside me. It was freakin' 7:30 in the morning. I growled at Erin and slammed the door on my way into the bathroom.

As I was brushing my teeth I heard a whine from the other side, "Huuuuurrrrry up!"

I slammed my toothbrush down. That was the last straw.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I knew it was coming the moment we woke up. Anita was angry. She'd already found Erin's talkativeness annoying, and you didn't have to be a psychic to know Anita hated being woken up early. Though, I suppose being a psychic did help predict the exact time of Anita's temper outbursts. And boy was she going to burst.

I stretched my paws out over Anita's blanket and looked shiftily at Erin, who was calmly picking out her clothes for the day from a shrinkable wardrobe. Now Erin was a strange character. In front of Anita, she acted like a flippant, annoying girl who had a tendency to start ranting about herself. However, when Anita was not around, she was more calm and more collected. It was as if she was testing Anita...

Of course, I could simply read her mind to find out her objective, but that would be rude. I certainly would not want anyone else reading my every thought, so I do not read minds unless I'm in a dire situation.

I did sense, however, that the girl did not have ill intentions. If she did, I would have informed Anita, but as her intentions were not bad, it was much more fun to watch Erin scheme and Anita lose her temper.

Erin turned toward me and grinned. Unlike many humans, she acknowledged that Pokemon had human intelligence (or rather, humans had Pokemon intelligence because Pokemon came before humans) and treated them like equals. Though she had not communicated with me, and believed that I could not directly communicate with her, she knew that I knew of her odd behavior.

She mouthed, "This is going to be fun!" and then smiled sweetly toward the bathroom door and hollered in a whiny voice, "Huuuuurryyy up!"

I felt Anita's temper go overboard. Her anger and annoyance were so strong that any psychic Pokemon within a mile radius would surely sense the emotion.

I covered my ears with my paws to muffle the explosion. It didn't help.

_**WHAM**_

Anita slammed the bathroom door open, her face practically purple with anger.

"IF YOU DO NOT SHUT YOUR FREAKIN' ANNOYING MOUTH UP I WILL PERSONALLY STUFF A GRIMER IN YOUR MOUTH AND GLUE IT SHUT SO YOU CAN NEVER UTTER ANOTHER WORD FROM THAT UGLY PIE HOLE!"

Yeesh, she went just a tad overboard. I was tempted to tell her so, but thought better of it. Though I suppose it was good she now had enough control not to throw things. Before... well, let's just say it was bad.

I guess it was also good her psychic powers had not fully developed yet. Though there are a few exceptions, for the most part the gift's growth corresponds with puberty. As a human goes through puberty, their gift becomes stronger and more developed. Luckily, Anita was still in the beginning stages of puberty; her menstruation cycle had started only a few months ago and her chest had a ways to go. Had she been older and lost her temper as she just did, she surely would have caused much damage to the area.

Sighing in relief that no real damage had been done, I curiously turned to watch Erin's reaction. She looked terrified until Anita once again slammed the bathroom door shut. Then she burst out in a fit of silent laughter.

I watched Erin noiselessly as she recovered and began scribbling something on a piece of paper. Bored, I turned around and gazed out the window at a flock of Pidgeys clustered around an elderly woman under the dim glow of the morning sun. By the time I turned back to Erin, she was dressed, fashionably of course, and was on her way out the door. She pointed to the note, flung the door open, and was gone.

The corners of my mouth twitched. She sure had style.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Bye Erin. Have a nice day!" Nurse Joy called to me as I rapidly left the Pokemon Center. With the wind whipping at my lab coat, I turned left and began my walk down Rainbow Street. It was a mile to the Research Facility.

I smiled as my heels continued to clank against the sidewalk. My thoughts returned to the girl, who was probably still fuming in the bathroom. After analyzing and testing the girl's behavior, I decided she was a strong candidate.

For the past few weeks, I had been looking for someone to travel with me back to my lab in Cape Caution. Of course, I could have easily gone back by myself, but I wished to collect data on some of the Pokemon species on my return trip. This would cause me to move more slowly and leave me more susceptible to danger.

A few years ago, I would have had less to worry about. In the past few years, an organization called Team Glop'emm has become more active. There were rumors that they had members watching every city, waiting for the perfect opportunity to steal money, Pokemon, and valuables.

I knew that though I had decent battling skills, I would not be able to defend myself against strong opponents, whether they were wild Pokemon, Team Glop'emm members, or other dangerous people. I'm a pretty fourteen year old girl, after all. There are dangerous people in the world just waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of me, if you get my drift. Thus, I needed to find someone to travel with.

Of course, I couldn't travel with just anyone. I had standards, just as I did with everything in life. It is my belief that a person should set rules for themselves, and then keep to those rules. It keeps life organized and makes decisions easier. One of my standards, for instance, is to dress to impress. Nobody has ever caught me wearing anything unfashionable, and I plan to keep it that way.

In this situation, I was looking to travel with a person who

a.) would not annoy me. So many people are whiners or overly talkative nowadays (I am not really usually as crazily talkative as I pretended to be around Anita... though sometimes...), and I cannot stand them. Anita, despite her clear dislike for shopping, did not complain, and she was pretty much the opposite of talkative.

b.) would not flirt with me. This actually falls under the first standard. Boys who flirt with me because of how I look are annoying, and because most boys try to flirt with me, traveling with a boy was pretty much out of the question.

c.) could tolerate many situations. Anita did not flip out when she was covered in mud, like some girls do, and for the most part was able to deal with my obnoxiousness. (She lasted a whole day, even if she blew up this morning.) She's the kind of person who would not go crazy if we ended up a sticky situation.

d.) could hold their own ground in a battle. This one needs to be tested, but Anita is a trainer, so she should be able to battle. I plan to watch her battle with the gym leader.

e.) was traveling in the direction of Cape Caution. Cape Caution has a gym, so Anita has to go there eventually.

f.) would not bore me. I want to travel with someone who is exciting. Anita's temper, for one, is very amusing. Secondly, she acts so strangely sometimes and has revealed so little of herself that I find her quite mysterious. Surely by traveling with her I could discover whatever caused her to act in this manner.

I grinned. Anita was a very good candidate. Plus, she needed my help. She was, after all, another young girl traveling on her own and needed as much protection from the dangers of the world as I did. I also got the feeling that deep down she was lonely. She was not traveling with any other humans, and she_ had _decided to room with me. She could have slept on the couch of the Pokemon Center if she had not wanted companions; yet, she had chosen to share a room. She may not have even known it, but she yearned for human company, and I could provide just that.

There was also the bonus of those Eevees she had. It was recently discovered that certain environments cause Eevees to evolve. This was directly linked to my research on the impact of the environment on Pokemon!

I smiled again, and sped up my walk. I was excited to find such a perfect candidate. Now all that was left, besides watching the gym battle, was to inform my peers at the Research Facility that I was finally going to depart and to pack up supplies for the trip.

A young man at the corner thought I was smiling at him. He began to approach me. "Hello there—"

I quickly crossed the street to avoid talking to the man. Honestly, I can't stand men. I straightened my face in hopes that no others would accost me if I looked serious and businesslike. The lab coat I was wearing added to my attempt to look serious; if only I had glasses...

I strode onwards, containing my excitement for the journey to come.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_Anita,_

_Went to the lab, will be back in the afternoon to show you the gym._

_Your pal,_  
_Erin_

_P.S. For a quiet person, you sure have a loud temper._

I had felt resentful when I left the bathroom, and a trickle of anger returned when I read the note. This girl was beyond annoying. She was a pea-headed chatterbox that had no off button and was completely oblivious to the world around her. Her emotions changed faster than anyone I had ever been in contact with. One moment she looked terrified, the next she was telling me she was my "pal". An actor couldn't have done better...

I crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it in the trashcan. Then I froze.

An actor. No way. Could she be...faking... was that even possible? It would certainly explain her odd temperament. But why? I clenched my fists. If that girl _was_ faking... That would mean she was _intentionally_ provoking me with her droning, her whining, her obviousness. I would kick her *ss!

And if she wasn't faking? Then she was just stupid and emotional and not someone I would want to hang around. Either way, I didn't like her.

{Aren't you being a little judgmental?} Apple commented.

I glared. "No."

{You were fine with her yesterday.}

"Today is new day."

{I think you are just cranky 'cause you were woken up. That combined with teenage hormones equals anger management issues.}

"I DON'T HAVE ANGER MANAGEMENT ISSUES!"

{Right, and I'm not a Mew.}

"UGHH. I'm going." I put on my pack and slammed the door on my way out of the room before Apple could get out. Of course, as I was striding away, I heard the door open again. Apple could psychically open the door.

Apple caught up to me when I reached the stairs.

{You know, she could have done worse. She could have decided to wake you up even earlier.}

{Instead she decided to wake me up at 7:30. That's not early at all,} I sarcastically remarked. I spoke psychically. It would look weird having a one-sided conversation with my Eevee. {She _decided_... It's like she planned to annoy me.}

I looked at Apple, who promptly looked away.

{She did plan it! That little... And then she just left!} I added angrily, {Why did she even wake me up if she was just going to leave? Grr. She was just trying to provoke me!}

{You could have gone back to sleep after she left.} Apple pointed out sheepishly.

{You know I can't fall back asleep after I'm woken up in the morning! That pooh-head!}

{You could have tried,} Apple weakly argued, but then decided it was not worth arguing about. She changed the subject. {Where are we going anyway?}

By this time, we had reached the Pokemon Center counter where surprisingly Nurse Joy was already up, even though the rest of the Pokemon Center lobby was empty. Instead of answering Apple, I turned to the pink-haired lady. "Good morning," I said tersely, still annoyed with everything and everyone. "I would like the Eevees I gave you yesterday back."

"That is fine. The eldest has fully recovered, but you must remember the other four will be in no condition to battle for the next two or three weeks. They are still young and being starved out in the wilderness hit them quite hard. They need lots of love, rest, and food to recover."

"I know, I know," I replied in an agitated tone.

"You understand this is very important to their—"

"I KNOW!" I yelled. Then I realized who I was yelling at. "Sorry. I've had a bad morning."

"Right." Nurse Joy looked at me nervously and then put the five Pokeballs in my hands. "Well, I'm trusting you with these."

There was awkward silence as I took the Pokeballs. Nurse Joy was slightly intimidated by my yelling.

"Thanks." I nodded curtly, and then left the building. Apple must have sensed my continued agitation because she did not speak to me as I walked down the block. When we reached the corner, I took out the Pokeball of the oldest Eevee and released him from his Pokeball.

{What are you doing?} Apple finally asked.

{I need to see if he wants to travel with us,} I replied.

{But you already caught him.}

{I will release him and his siblings if he wishes.}

In the meantime, the released Eevee was adjusting to the area. He glanced at the buildings, and then turned intently toward me. Even though his fur had been groomed, he still managed to maintain a slightly rugged look, with random pieces of fur standing up. He stared at me intensely, not quite angry, but certainly suspicious. {Where are they?} he demanded.

I pulled out the other four Pokeballs, and showed the Eevee. He narrowed his eyes at me but said nothing.

{They are in here. They need food and care, and are in no condition to battle for the next few weeks.} I tried to sound friendly.

{So I have heard. The pink lady informed me after I was healed.}

Silence.

{What do you want to do?} I finally asked.

{What can I do?} the Eevee bitterly replied. {My family is hurt. We will not be able to fend for ourselves in the wild.}

{Would you and siblings like to travel with Apple and me?} I gestured toward Apple, who was peering at the Eevee curiously from behind my legs, unsure if it would attack.

{No,} the Eevee responded frankly.

More silence. I was about to press the release button...

{But we will anyway. As much as I dislike humans, my family is in no condition to return to the wilderness. You have already proven that you will take care of my family by bringing them to the Pokemon Center to be healed. For now, I will trust you.}

I smiled at the Eevee who responded with a glare.

The Eevee growled, {However, one wrong move, and I swear by Mew—} Apple chuckled and the Eevee turned his gaze to her. {I swear that I will personally rip your throat to pieces.}

Apple stopped laughing and stared intently back at the Eevee.

I clapped my hands, trying to break the tension. {Alright then, welcome to the team! Do you have a name?}

{No.}

{Eevees, and most Pokemon for that matter, tell each other apart through scents,} Apple informed me.

{Well then, since I now have six Eevees, I must name you so I do not get confused. I will call you Fiery. Any issues with that name?} I told the Eevee.

Fiery turned away. {No.}

{Do you prefer to be in a Pokeball or outside of it?} I was not about to keep a Pokemon in a Pokeball if it did not wish to be held there, especially not a fiery Eevee. Fiery, it seemed, did not like to mess around.

{Outside for now, but keep the little ones in. No need to put them in any more danger than they already are in,} the Eevee decided as he suspiciously eyed a lone Growlithe carrying the morning newspaper across the street. It ran between the legs of the few early risers walking in the opposite direction.

{What's that supposed to mean?} Apple piped, finally deciding it was safe to talk to the Eevee.

{Exactly what I said, moron.}

{Alright, let's be nice to each other now,} I tried. I got two glares in response. I sighed. {I'm Anita, by the way, and as you know this is Apple.}

{How do you do?} Apple snickered, shyness nowhere to be found now.

Fiery growled, but chose to ignore Apple, {How can you speak to me anyway? Only Pokemon can communicate with each other telepathically.}

Before I could answer, Apple responded, {She's a psychic, so she can speak to Pokemon too. It's obvious really. Look at her eyes.}

{Whatever,} Fiery said coolly. I crossed the street and started down the next block. Apple and Fiery followed.

{So, where are we going now?} Apple asked, again.

{To find the gym,} I replied.

Apple complained, {But we haven't even battled a single person away from home yet! We'll get our *sses whooped!}

I didn't respond.

{I think you're being arrogant. We need to train! Plus, we don't even know where the gym is. We should wait for Erin to show us.}

{I don't want or need Erin's help.}

{Who's Erin?} Fiery inquired.

{You'll see.}

{Unfortunately,} I added.

-

After wandering around town for an hour, stopping for a quick breakfast, and then wandering around some more, we still had not found the gym.

"It has to be here somewhere," I muttered thoroughly irritated.

{Well, it would help if you asked someone for directions,} Apple commented.

{I don't need anybody else's help.}

{Well that's stupid. Of course you do!} Apple countered.

{Yeah, otherwise you'll end up where we are now,} Fiery remarked.

{And where is that?}

I shouldn't have asked.

{Right where we started.}

I looked up. We were indeed right in front of the Pokemon Center. I groaned.

{You know,} Apple started. {I think there was a gym sign in the park we passed five minutes ago.}

{There wasn't a—} Apple shoved Fiery with a paw. {I mean, of course. How could you miss it?}

{And I smelled hotdogs,} Apple added hopefully.

Fiery looked at Apple in disgust. {Do you know what those things are made of?}

{Dog sweat?}

Fiery and I exchanged mystified glances and followed Apple, who was sprinting ahead toward the park. Obviously she just wanted a hotdog, but hey, there was nowhere better to look.

Of course, when we reached the park, there was no gym sign, though there was a hotdog stand. The park was large and green, covered in different trees, grasses, and flowers. There was a single gravel path that twisted down the center of the park. A large cluster of trees created a miniature forest a few yards away on one side of the path, and the other side was a spacious field of different types of grasses. The hotdog stand was a ways down the path, though one could smell it from a mile away. There were some people walking with their Pokemon down the path, and a few wild bug Pokemon scurried about the trees and grass. I sighed. The gym was not here.

Apple was leaping between patches of flowers, while Fiery simply stood.

{HOTDOG!} Apple shrieked when she noticed the hotdog stand was visible. {Let's go get hotdogs!}

I sighed again. "You can have a hotdog for lunch. For now, I guess we should train 'cause we can't find the gym."

Apple sulked, {But lunch isn't for another three hours!}

"The faster we start, the faster we can eat lunch. Now, before we start, I think I should meet the other four Eevees. Here there shouldn't be too much danger, and they shouldn't be able to get into too much trouble."

Fiery snorted. {Yeah, right. They'll find trouble anywhere.}

We moved to an open area of some yards away from the path. I pulled out the four Pokeballs. Four red lights flashed as the Eevees were released.

The four young Eevees clustered together and stared up at me will big adorable eyes. Their fur was rather dull compared to Apple's and Fiery's and like Fiery, they still had a slightly scraggly look. The Eevees were still rather small, about the size of rabbits, but they were not done growing yet. Their skinny legs and bony bodies revealed their long lack of nutrition, but at least they were no longer wet and whimpering. I remembered Apple telling me they were all about four months old, meaning they hatched about four months ago. They were considered to be from the same litter because they all hatched around the same time from the same mother and father.

The Eevees seemed intimidated at the sight of me. Their ears were folded back and they retreated slowly. Fiery trotted over to the Eevees and rubbed noses with them to comfort them. {Don't worry guys, they won't hurt you. That girl is our trainer now, and she will care for us, and if she doesn't…} Fiery glared at me. {then we will tear her to pieces.}

I put on my friendliest smile and spoke to them psychically: {Hello, I'm Anita, and this is Apple.} I gestured to Apple, who had decided to start chasing her tail. {Welcome to the family.}

For a few seconds, the miniature Eevees stared at Apple, who promptly stopped chasing her tail and lightly skipped over to the new Eevees to greet them. The Eevees then turned their gaze to me and stared in amazement.

{She can talk in our heads!} the one farthest to the left squealed. Its ears straightened and it ran over to sniff my hand. The other three followed cautiously.

{I thought humans couldn't talk to Pokemon. Only Pokemon can talk to Pokemon,} another Eevee commented after much sniffing.

Apple, who was sitting with Fiery watching the scene, answered proudly, {She's a psychic, so she can talk to humans and Pokemon!}

The four Eevees looked up again and simultaneously said, {WOOOOOOOOOW!}

Then, suddenly, the greeting was over, and the first Eevee that spoke bounded away to chase frogs. The second Eevee scanned the area, saw a puddle, and promptly jumped into it, splashing water on itself as well as the surrounding grass. One of the other Eevees ignored the rest and went over to flowerbed, where it laid down. The last, and smallest of the bunch, quietly walked under a sunflower near Fiery and Apple.

{Well, I suppose I must name all of you,} I informed the group. Each Eevee looked up from its activity, and Apple and Fiery watched curiously.

{Which ones are boys, and which are girls?} I silently asked Apple.

{The one playing with the frog and the one in the puddle are males. The others are females,} Apple replied without revealing to the other Eevees that we had communicated.

I started with the furriest and boldest of the young Eevees, the one that had dared to speak first and was now playing with a frog. {I will name you Allo.}

The Eevee cocked its head at me. {Why's that?}

I shrugged. {It was the first thing that came to mind.}

{Then your mind is weird.}

The Eevee splashing around in the puddle turned to Allo. {Your face is weird!}

I turned to the wet Eevee. {I think you shall be Splash.}

The wet Eevee rolled his eyes and mocked his brother. {_Why's that?_}

{Great, another smart-alec,} I stated dryly.

{I thought you said my name was Splash, not Alec,} Splash snorted. Then he literally snorted water and started coughing and laughing simultaneously. Oy vey.

I turned my gaze to the Eevee in the flowerbed. Her coat was less ragged than the others and she laid in such a way that her fur seemed to glisten despite its dulled color. She had somehow managed to put a red flower behind her ear and was now licking her paws. When she saw I was looking at her, she sat up and appeared to be attempting to pose, as if this action would help me come up with a name for her.

{I will name you Vanilla.} I finally decided.

Vanilla eyed me carelessly and then concluded, {That seems fitting. A beautiful name for a beautiful creature like me.} The Eevee then laid back down and continued cleaning her paws. Splash snorted again, this time at Vanilla's response, and Vanilla glared.

I finally looked over to the smallest Eevee under the sunflower. She would not meet my gaze. {I will call you Sunflower,} I calmly told her. She nodded and moved closer to Fiery.

{Alright then!} I looked at the four Eevees. {You four stay out of trouble while Fiery, Apple, and I train. Don't leave this clearing.}

{Why don't we get to train too?} Splash complained. {I wanna battle!}

{Nurse Joy told me you guys need recovery time.} After a second thought, I added strictly, {Under no circumstances will you four battle in the next two weeks. After that, we'll see.}

{But I feel fine!} Splash whined.

{Your coat is still dull,} Allo pointed out.

{Well so is yours,} the wet Eevee retorted.

{Exactly, all of us need time to grow healthy. Don't you feel like you tire a little too quickly?} The two female Eevees nodded in agreement with Allo.

{No,} Splash said defiantly.

{I personally think battling is overrated,} Vanilla randomly stated.

Splash snickered, {You think anything that might get your precious fur dirty is overrated.}

Fiery sighed, {Won't you guys ever get along?}

{NO!}

Apple turned to me, {Are we gonna start soon or what? I want a hotdog!}

{Ok, Fiery, Apple, come over here. You four, no battling and stay out of trouble.} I walked with Apple and Fiery to the other side of the clearing where the young Eevees were still in sight, but not in the way of training.

I looked down at Fiery. {I haven't really seen you battle yet, so why don't you and Apple battle each other so I can see your skills?}

Fiery glared up at me. {You're expecting me to battle for you?}

I looked at him in surprise. I had thought he would want to train and battle. {Well, I kinda just assumed... I mean trainers work with their Pokemon in battle to learn and grow stronger, and I thought you would want to become stronger... I won't force you if you don't want to.}

Fiery's continued to stare. {Let me make this clear. I will battle for you, but not because you are now my trainer.} Fiery looked over at his siblings, now huddled together playing some sort of leaping game. {I will battle so I can be strong enough to protect my family.} He turned to Apple and said fiercely, {I will not fail them again. Let's do this.}

Apple shrugged, and the two Eevees distanced themselves to prepare for battle. I was a bit disturbed, but like Apple, I shrugged it off. I spoke: {This will be a one on one battle with no commands from the trainer.} To Apple, I added privately, {Remember, no using psychic powers. We have not told them yet, and we also don't want any people to see.}

{Begin!}

{Ladies first,} Fiery snickered.

{Only if you insist,} Apple countered, and began racing toward Fiery in a quick attack.

Fiery eyed Apple carefully, and at the last second dodged out of the way using his own quick attack. He then changed directions and slid to a stop, making the dirt on the ground sputter into Apple's face. Apple spun around confused.

{What's wrong? Can't catch what you can't see?} Fiery ran at Apple.

{Oh, shut up with that classic line! Everyone uses it, and its not true 'cause I will catch you!} Apple spat. Despite my command not to use her psychic powers, I could tell Apple was indeed using her powers to locate Fiery while she couldn't see because she responded by dodging Fiery's tackle, twisting, and biting his tail.

Fiery howled in pain, but I noticed his tail was lighting up.

{Just kidding,} he taunted as his iron-hard tail hit a helplessly close Apple on the head. He then followed up by aiming another tackle at her, but Apple ducked and kicked Fiery up with her hind legs as he flew over her.

By the time he landed, Apple was nowhere in sight. Fiery twirled about until he noticed a hole. {Uh-oh.}

Apple popped up underneath Fiery, sending him flying. Fiery crumpled to the ground as he landed. He shakily got to his feet, and his tail once more began to glow.

Now it was Apple's turn to utter an, {Uh-oh} and duck out of sight with another dig attack. However, Fiery was not about to fall for the same trick twice. He scanned the ground and found a nearby rock, which he rushed on top of. Apple was unable to pop up directly beneath Fiery, giving Fiery the opportunity to tackle Apple to the ground.

Panting, Apple pounced on Fiery in response, and the two Eevees rolled over each other in the dirt. A bite here, a tail whip there. Their paws and tails were intertwined, and they were rolling so quickly, it was hard to tell which Eevee was which.

{Take that, and that!} Apple squealed, biting Fiery's ears.

{Oh yeah, well take this!} Fiery suddenly rolled over so that he towered over Apple, causing Apple to be stuck in a very awkward belly-up position. He held her four paws down with his own, and his tail was lit up over him, ready to strike should she manage to escape.

He smirked. {Game over.}

Apple struggled for a few seconds, but she was unable to throw Fiery off of her. She then stopped struggling, and smirked right back at him.

{Fine, you win.}

And then she gave a lick across the face that rivaled a Haunter's in sliminess.

Fiery jumped off of her, {Ewwwwww!} He ran around until he finally stumbled into the puddle Splash had been playing in. He threw his head in the water and pawed at it in an attempt to get Apple grossness off of him. When he was finally satisfied he glared at her. {You're despicable.}

Apple stuck out her tongue in response, causing Fiery to jump back in fear of another lick.

{Do it again! Do it again!}

I turned to see four young Eevees yelping excitedly at the strange series of events they had just witnessed.

Splash ran up to Apple, {You're sooooo cool! Can you teach me how to lick like that?}

Apple smiled triumphantly at that comment, and then whined to me, {Can I PU-LEAZE have a hotdog now?}

{Just a little more training, you two,} I started, choosing to ignore Apple. {Fiery, how do you know Iron Tail?}

Fiery shrugged. {We all do.} He nodded toward the younger Eevees. {Our father was an Aagron.}

I nodded. {Can you try and teach Apple? I'll watch you two and keep an eye on the other four.}

{While you're at it, you should practice clearing your mind and _listening_ like we did before,} Apple added privately. {I haven't forgotten our deal.}

I sighed and sat down under a tree as Fiery began to show Apple the technique needed to turn her tail as hard as iron. Splash, Allo, Sunflower, and Vanilla were huddled together watching Apple and Fiery a few yards away.

I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and relaxed my body.

"HELLO THERE!"

I jumped up so fast, I accidentally hit my head on a low branch and started cursing.

"Err, sorry miss. I noticed your two Eevees train'in while I was a-walkin' n' I was a-wonderin' if ya wanted to enter 'n my contest."

I quit my cursing, and, rubbing my head, I turned to face the source of my pain. "What do you want?"

I was facing a short man wearing a top hat. He had a short gray beard, was plump, and had a squeaky voice.

"Wanna enter me contest? It's free n' there's prize money."

I considered. "Alright. When is it?"

"Starts 1:00 in front o' the hotdog stand. There'll be sixteen compet-etors, n' each battle's one on one," the man answered and handed me a sheet of paper with a few other names scrawled on it. "Sign here."

I signed. It would be a good test of Apple and Fiery's skills.

"Thanks much," the man said as he tilted his top hat and walked away.

I looked at Fiery and Apple to find Fiery still teaching Apple the basics of Iron Tail. They had been so caught up in training that they had not noticed the strange little man.

I looked at the four young Eevees to find… they weren't there.

Crap.

I quickly scanned the clearing, but the Eevees were nowhere in sight.

Crap.

Fiery would kill me. Literally.

Did I mention crap?


	7. Misadventures

Chapter 6: Misadventures

Dresses.

I love them.

Short or long. Glittery or plain. Colorful or gray.

Whatever the case, I love them.

I love them as much as I love myself.

They are a shadow of the wearer, revealing to the world the wearer's mood.

Her style.

Her spirit.

They are beautiful.

But one was the most beautiful.

And most important.

This was the dress that was going to win me the pageant.

Win me my dream.

My dream of becoming a model.

My dream of wearing and showing the beauty of dresses to the world over and over again.

My fallen dream.

_They_ did it. They tore away the dress's beauty. They tore my dream to pieces. They would—

_**DONG**_

_**DONG**_

_**DONG**_

I spun away from the mirror I had been staring at, still holding the tattered dress against my body, as if I could magically heal its wounds.

"It would have been perfect," I whispered to the little red fox lying peacefully on a vermillion cushion next to my bed.

The Vulpix opened its sparkling golden eyes and nodded in agreement. The well groomed fox not only matched the room's color, but its elegance. Everything, from the mosaic border of the mirror to the intricate design of the translucent lamp shade created an aura of flowing beauty. Sunlight danced through glittery shades onto the soft gold-colored comforter of a bed fit for a queen. The sparkling crimson stone walls reflected bits of light onto a beige carpet, as if blood-rubies had been dribbled about the entire room.

Even the tattered dress seemed to fit in with the design of the room. The ripped cloth twirled itself into curls, like the golden hair of a goddess. Ribbons once perfectly placed streamed from the dress wild in every direction. Yet, despite this wildness, the ruins of the dress managed to maintain a certain dark beauty. The wild ribbons glimmered red, black, and gold— a faded sun, a fallen star.

I sighed and slumped onto the plush bed. I would call a friend to blow off some steam or at least find someone to gossip with in order to make my problems seem less problematic, but my friends and classmates had all left on their journey. They were all on their way to becoming trainers, researches, coordinators, or whatever the hell they were in the mood for. _They_ had all turned thirteen.

I sulked.

Why did I have to be the youngest person in my grade? While everyone else left on their journey, I was stuck in my house for another two July weeks until my birthday.

Even Reece had abandoned me! Though what the heck he would be doing… I snickered. He thought he was going to be a trainer, but I would bet money he had already changed his mind. He was much too lazy to ever work hard and too greedy to be able to keep his hands to himself. Maybe he had already gotten himself thrown in jail. Then I would be able to catch up with him in Azul City.

Maybe he had seen Anita. I growled. Even that rotten goody-two-shoe had left. Left with those vicious little f—

_**DONG**_

_**DONG**_

_**DONG**_

Wasn't that good-for-nothing butler going to answer the door? Ugh.

I stomped out of the room, closely followed by Flora, the sleepy Vulpix. I peered over the fine wooden railing into the main hall. Past the spiral staircase, I could see the butler, John, scurrying to open the door.

I turned away and started back to my room. I honestly could care less who was at our door as long as that irksome doorbell stopped ringing.

I heard the door creak open and a stranger's voice say, "Good afternoon. May I speak with the lady of this house?"

This got my attention. Who would want to speak with my mother? We rarely got visitors, and those who did stop by were _not _visiting to see my pompous mother.

I twirled around and looked back over the railing to the door. An important looking man in a black suit and a briefcase was standing in the doorway. Who was this guy?

"Please wait—." John began.

"John, let me speak to this man. You know how mother hates to be disturbed for miniscule matters," I called down to the butler. I hurried to the staircase and then descended. When I reached the door, John gave me a slight bow and scampered off to the kitchen.

I turned to the man in the door. Up close he looked nervous, as if he felt out of place. "What do you want?"

"Miss Goldenthrill," the man started. "I am from… err… from an organization that tracks Pokemon, and our machine reported some strange data from this area. Did you happen to see anything unusual around your house yesterday? Any odd people or Pokemon?"

Yesterday… that was when…

I suddenly grinned.

This had the sweet scent of revenge all over it.

I invited the man inside.

"Let me tell you about Anita Parkwood."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Okay, I could handle this.

I took a deep breath and turned to Apple and Fiery who were still absorbed in practicing Iron Tail.

{Umm, I have to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go and bring the other four with me,} I nervously told the two Pokemon.

Fiery didn't even answer. He nodded and then demonstrated to Apple how to smash a rock with his tail.

Though Apple appeared to be avidly watching Fiery, she smirked slightly and answered only to me, {You lost them, didn't you?}

{Ugh. I'm going to go find them before Fiery finds out. Keep him busy, will you?}

{Fine, but buy me a hotdog on your way back.}

{Alright.} I tried my best to walk at a normal pace away from the practice area.

The second I was out of their hearing range I raced through the undergrowth, looking frantically in every direction. The Eevees couldn't have gone too far.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

It had been fun watching Apple and my big brother battle, but then they started practicing, and who wants to watch that? Boring!

"Let's go exploring!" I had told my fellow siblings. To a human, it would have sounded like "Eeeveee eee," unless the human was a psychic who could understand the thoughts behind the words, which my trainer was. So cool.

Too bad she wasn't listening at the moment.

"Whatever," Vanilla answered.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea." Allo looked hesitantly at our new trainer.

"They won't even notice we're gone." I looked over at Anita, who had just slammed her head on a tree branch, and I chuckled. "Come on!"

I jumped through a bush and began my stroll through the forest shrubs.

Allo sighed and followed. "I have to make sure you guys don't get in too much trouble."

"We're already in trouble," Vanilla stated, carefully stepping around the bush I had jumped through.

"Good point. Okay then, I have to make sure you guys don't get yourselves killed." Allo turned around suddenly. "You coming?"

I stopped too. I had forgotten about Sunflower because, no offence, she wasn't very exciting.

"…" Sunflower had replied as she looked fearfully at Anita, but she finally padded after us.

So now we were all wandering somewhere in the woods! Whoooo! There was so much stuff to look at and sniff! I ran from tree to tree inspecting everything.

"Calm down Splash! You're going insane!" Allo tiredly insisted.

"He's always insane," Vanilla declared. I turned, planning to retort something like, "I'm insanely awesome," but then saw that Vanilla had stopped to sniff a suspicious looking mushroom.

Hehe…that was not a mushroom!

"OWWWW!" Vanilla squealed.

A Paras clenched her nose with one of its pincers.

When she saw what was on her face, she freaked and ran in frantic circles.

"GET IT OFF OF ME!"

"That's for invading my private bubble!" a new voice yelled. I assumed it was the Paras.

"Hold still!" Allo called. "I'll get it."

"AHHH!" Vanilla didn't seem to hear him.

Allo ran at Vanilla and miraculously managed to bite the Paras.

"Hey! Buddy, this does not involve you," the Paras said to Allo, still gripping Vanilla's nose. "This is between me and the bubble invader, so butt out!"

Allo suddenly let go of the Paras and collapsed. I could see he hadn't fainted though. He was snoring.

"HELP ME!" Vanilla was still running in circles.

She tried shaking her head, but the Paras still tightly held her snout. Vanilla was so dizzy from trying to get the Pokemon off that she ran into a tree and collapsed.

The Paras let go of her and scolded, "I hope you learned your lesson." He then scurried off.

The episode terrified Sunflower so much she almost fainted.

And I watched the whole thing laughing my butt off.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I opened the door to my room.

Nobody was inside.

Not that I really expected Anita to have waited, but I was kind of hoping.

Oh well.

I set down my pack and fell onto my bed. I had just finished packing up all of my stuff at the lab and informing everyone that I was leaving. Everything I needed was safely shrunken and packed away in my bag. Shrinking technology these days was really amazing; I could carry a full wardrobe, research equipment, and Pokemon supplies in a small lightweight bag.

Now I was left with two options.

I _could_ go looking for Anita. I'm sure Griffy could easily find her.

Or I could get a manicure. Manicures were half-price every Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Betsy's Beauty Salon.

Today just happened to be Thursday.

I looked at my watch. It was 12:40. I knew a shortcut through the park that could get me to the salon in time for a half-price manicure.

Wow. This was a _real_ tough decision.

I picked up my pack and headed toward the park.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I opened an eye.

That was a mistake. There was a giant killer fluffball hovering over me. It looked like a cushion with teeth.

I closed my eye and then opened it again, hoping the image would disappear.

Unfortunately, now there were three giant killer fluffballs hovering over me.

I blinked again.

This time my eyes focused. My three siblings were all looking down at me. Siblings, giant killer fluff balls… same difference.

I slowly got up. I looked around at the surrounding woods. Where was I?

"What happened?" I asked, struggling with my memories.

"A Paras put you to sleep," someone replied. "Luckily, Sunflower here found a special berry to wake you up. You were out for, like, twenty minutes."

I looked at the speaker and my memory came flooding back. "How'd you get rid of the Paras?"

"It ran off." Vanilla scowled and then added: "No thanks to any of you!" She glared at Splash.

Splash ignored her and scampered off into a bush, uninterested now that the excitement of my awakening was over.

I turned to Sunflower and smiled warmly at my sister. "Thanks."

Sunflower blushed but didn't answer. She never did. She was brilliant, but extremely shy. She never talked to strangers and rarely even spoke to us.

I called out to Splash, "Don't you think we should go back now?" I knew what the answer would be, but I could still hope…

Vanilla apparently had no hope. She scoffed at me.

Splash, of course, replied with a "No!"

I sighed and followed after Splash. I could leave him… I'm sure my sisters would follow me… but without me, Splash would get himself into even more trouble. It had happened before. It was safer to simply follow him.

"Hey guys! Come look at this!" Splash's voice wavered in excitement. I followed his voice to a patch of bushes and found my crazed brother running in circles around a rugged sign next to a hole in the ground. Vanilla and Sunflower trailed behind me.

"Look!" Splash squealed again. He seemed rather pleased with himself.

I sniffed the sign curiously and then turned my nose to the hole in the ground. Sweet natural aromas wafted from below the ground.

Vanilla sniffed too, and was apparently soothed by the sweet smell as well. "Maybe we should go down," she said.

"Yes!" Splash rushed toward the hole.

I grabbed his tail a second before he jumped. "We don't know what's down there!" I warned.

Splash was not deterred, and continued to fight my bite on his tail.

"Help, anyone?" I mumbled through clenched teeth. Vanilla joined my struggle to prevent Splash from jumping. We managed to get him under control.

I thought a moment and then glanced up at the sign. I could not read it. Neither could Splash or Vanilla for that matter; Fiery had not taught us, and I wasn't even sure he could actually read. I shifted my eyes to Sunflower. I suspected she had taught herself how to read because I had seen her looking at a newspaper back in the big golden place we had been kicked out of.

"Can you read it?" I asked her.

She only half-nodded and half-shrugged in response. I waited.

"I can read the letters," she finally whispered, "but I don't know the word."

"Well, what is it?" Splash asked impatiently and then tried to jump through the hole again. Vanilla caught him.

Sunflower mumbled, "It says…. G…..Y…. and what's that W doing upside-down…. Oh…. That's an M."

"What?"

"G. Y. M," she said more definitively.

"What does that mean?" I asked more to myself than anyone.

"Well, it spells out G-gggg-ggg-yeeee-ggg-yeeum," Sunflower sounded out. "Gyeum," she concluded.

"Sounds like geese mixed with yum to me. Maybe there's yummy geese down there," Splash suggested.

"And maybe my tail will fly off my butt to spread peace and happiness throughout the land," I added, frustrated.

"And farts," Vanilla inserted. I glared.

"It could happen." We all stared at Splash. "What?"

Sunflower yawned, and I noticed how shaky and tired she looked. "We need to go back," I announced, nodding toward Sunflower.

"But—" Splash started.

I growled deeply, and he thought better of arguing. "This way."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Tra-la-la, tra-traa-la-la, tra-le-la-le-la.

I hummed to myself as Griffy stepped through the undergrowth as quickly as possible without falling. My shortcut to Betsy's went right through the woods in the park. Even though Griffy could not run without falling in here, it was still shorter than going around.

Griffy suddenly stopped. Four small rugged Eevees scampered in front of us.

What the…?

I cursed silently. Why was my life suddenly haunted by Eevees? Eevees were not even supposed to be found in the wild in this area. First Anita has one, then she tells me she has five others that are hurt…

Wait a second. Anita probably picked up her five other Eevees in the morning. What if…?

"Griffy, stop those Eevees with psychic!" I yelled.

I examined the scraggly Pokemon. They definitely looked malnourished, but not starving.

"What do you think, Griffy? Are these Anita's Pokemon?"

{Most definitely. Their thoughts have revealed they are searching for Anita.}

I bit my lip. I really did not want to talk to Anita just yet. She would definitely still be mad. Plus, manicures were half off…

But these Pokemon were more important. I sighed. "Let's go find Anita."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Crud, crap, cruddy crap, crappy crud crap," I whispered to myself as I glanced at my watch. It was already 1:05. I was missing the tournament, I still couldn't find the Eevees, and surely Fiery had figured out that I did not just leave to take a dump by now. I had tried listening for them psychically, but I was too worried to concentrate. The bushes suddenly rumbled.

"Erin!" I exclaimed in surprise as she and Griffy leapt out of the bushes. Then I remember what she had done to me this morning. I growled, "Erin."

Erin grinned madly and winked at me. "Hey there."

I'm sure my face was turning purple with anger, but before I could start shouting, Erin said in a mock serious voice, "I felt so bad about this morning that I decided I had to make it up to you." She gave me a sad, puppy-dog look. "So I brought you a present. Griffy?"

I noticed Griffy's eyes were glowing. Behind the Girafarig floated Sunflower, Splash, Vanilla, and Allo. They struggled against the psychic, but were unharmed. I forgot Erin, ran to the Eevees, and pulled them into a hug as Griffy released the psychic. My worries gone, I was able to open my mind to their thoughts.

Splash squirmed. {Geez, woman. We don't even know you.}

Though I did truly care for the Pokemons' well being, truth be told, I was more worried about Fiery killing me than them getting hurt in the wild.

{Hey, cut it out. You are going to ruin my fur,} Vanilla complained. I let them go and reluctantly turned to Erin.

"I guess I owe you one," I grumbled.

Erin smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."

I looked at my watch again. I really did not want to ask Erin, but…

"Hey, Erin? Do you think you could give me a ride back to the path? I am late for a battle tournament I entered and I need to find Fiery and Apple."

Erin's eyes flashed. "You're entering a battle tournament?"

I nodded.

"Hop right on," Erin invited.

I turned back to the Eevees, who were looking at me in with big adorable eyes. "Alright, we will discuss your actions later. Just don't tell Fiery about this or we'll all be in trouble. For now, return." They disappeared in a flash of red light.

As we raced through though the undergrowth, I plotted the story I was going to tell Fiery. By the time I had pointed out the clearing Apple and Fiery were in, I had thought of a very simple explanation.

"I met Erin in the woods and I became rather distracted as we discussed the happenings of this morning," I explained to Fiery when we finally reached the clearing. Fiery looked confused and turned to Apple for a clearer explanation. I had forgotten that Fiery had not witnessed my argument with Erin this morning.

Apple shrugged. {She and Erin roomed together and had a loud quarrel. Well, Anita was loud anyway.}

I inwardly sighed in relief. Apple had not told Fiery about his siblings getting lost.

"Alright, let's go!" There might be a chance that I would still be able to participate in the tournament, even if it had already started. I hurriedly pulled out a Pokeball to return Fiery.

{Wait,} Fiery demanded. {Where are my brothers and sisters?}

I pulled out their four Pokeballs to show him. Fiery nodded in acceptance, and I returned him to his Pokeball.

{But I still want a hotdog!} Apple whined. {And you owe me big time, Anita.}

{I'll get you one on the way there. Now come on!}

Apple jumped into my arms, and we took off on Griffy.

{Ugh. I forgot how sick this makes me feel,} Apple moaned.

I told Erin and Griffy to stop at the hotdog stand. As soon as we dismounted and Erin returned Griffy to his Pokeball, Apple bellowed, {HOTDOG, HERE I COME!} She raced to the hotdog stand, all traces of motion sickness gone.

I ran after the Eevee. "Apple, NO!" I yelled when I saw what she was going to do. I was too late. Apple pounced at a wide-eyed hotdog salesman and demanded a hot dog. The poor man stumbled backward in surprise, knocking over his stand and spilling hotdogs everywhere. Apple immediately started devouring the spilled meat filled buns.

I quickly reached Apple, but not before she had consumed four of the hotdogs. I scooped her up into my arms to keep her from continuing.

{Enough!} I scowled.

She licked her lips, grinning.

I helped the salesman up with the arm not holding Apple, frantically repeating, "I'm so sorry!"

The disgruntled salesman stared blankly at his fallen stand. He didn't say anything until I reluctantly offered to pay for the damage, and then he finally muttered, "It's fine."

Erin caught up to us just as I was handing the salesman the majority of the money I had saved up in the past few years for my journey. She tapped my shoulder. "Hey, don't you want to go see if you can still participate in the tournament?" She pointed beyond the fallen hotdog stand to a wide field where I could see three battles going on.

"Oh yeah!" I glanced toward the field. I had been so flustered about the fallen hotdog stand that all thoughts of the tournament had left my mind. I hastily handed the salesman a few more dollars for two out of three hotdogs that had not fallen out of the stand. I tossed one hotdog to Erin, muttered another apology to the salesman, and rushed toward the tournament while gobbling my own hotdog.

The salesman behind us was left bewildered. For a moment, he stood in the midst of the sprawled hotdogs and stared at the large wad of cash in his hand—more cash than he would have made in the next six months. The man glanced around shiftily.

Finding no witnesses, the man whistled and walked away.


	8. Break It Down Now, Y’all

Chapter 6.5: Break It Down Now, Y'all

"You're in luck, m'dear," the contest man with a top hat told me when I finally found him amongst the battlers. It had taken me a good fifteen minutes. "I only managed to-a-find fif-a-teen trainers, 'n without you, it had been four-a-teen. If you'd a been here, there would'a been a bye round for a someone else. But now a that you're here, you can be the one with the bye 'n battle 'n the next round. We'll be done 'n the next few minutes." He nodded to the only two trainers left battling. One was using a Spearow, and the other a Sentret. They both looked really tired so the battle would end shortly.

"Thank you, sir," I replied to the tournament man. He tilted his top hat and turned to chat with one of the winners of the past round. I turned to join Apple and Erin, who were sitting on a small hillside nearby.

"We better feed everyone lunch," I said, sitting down next to Erin. Erin nodded as I reached into my pack and pulled out a bunch of Pokemon food containers. I released my five other Eevees. Erin released Griffy and two other Pokemon I had not known she possessed.

One was a small bird with blue wings. It screeched, "Low- tail-low," which meant, as I heard in its thoughts, {Hello world! I am here!}

I smiled when I saw the other Pokemon. It was, in fact, one of those oddly-shaped wingless ducks that resembles a platypus with its face smashed in (if I remember my description correctly). Like all Whoopers I had ever seen, it had a silly smile plastered on its face.

What was surprising about this Whooper, however, was its initial thought.

{I hate the world.}

{Whoa,} I thought to Apple. {Did you hear that?}

{Duh.}

{You don't seem surprised.}

Apple shrugged. {Don't judge a Pokemon by looks. Pokemon don't always have the same expressions as humans. That Whooper is like a clown. She may smiling on the outside, but that doesn't mean she's happy.}

"Hello! Anita, you're dazing out again!" I snapped my attention back to Erin. "This is Tweal," Erin said as she pointed to the Tailow. "And this is Wella." She gestured the Whooper.

I relayed my name and my Pokemon's names to the newly met Pokemon and added silently to my six, {Please do not tell Erin or her Pokemon of my ability to speak with you. I don't know how she will react, and I don't know how trustworthy she is.}

{Your secret is safe with us!} Allo declared proudly.

{Only if you give us food,} Splash added, eyeing the Pokemon cans.

Fiery glared at everyone, and Wella waddled over to the angry Eevee thinking, {I think we'll get along.}

Erin and I passed out the food, and I turned to watch the last few seconds of the battle between the Sentret and Spearow. I was interrupted when Erin spoke.

"So, miss anger-management, where did you meet your Pokemon? I met Wella in some marshes a month or two ago, and I caught Tweal on the way to this city. Griffy I've known for a while. We've been friends for, like, forever and—"

"You can cut the act, Erin," I snapped. "I know you're faking."

"Faking what?" Erin asked in a sugary voice.

"You being a nitwit!"

A mock frown replaced Erin's sweet smile. "How am I a nitwit?"

"You talk a lot. And annoy the crap out of me."

Erin pouted. "Are you implying that I am faking talking and annoying you? I don't see how that's possible as I'm doing it right now."

I sighed, exasperated. "Ugh, no. That's not what I mean! You're not really a naturally chatty, obnoxious person. You just act that way—"

"If I act that way, then that must be how I am."

"But you arguing like this just proves my point! Ugh! Forget it. It's not worth it!" I retorted. I could feel the anger bubbling in my stomach again so I turned back to the battle and found it had ended, the Spearow the victor. "Erin, watch my Eevees," I ordered curtly as I grabbed Apple around the stomach and stalked away from Erin toward the tournament manager.

{Hey! I wasn't done eating!}

{You have had more than enough food today,} I replied sourly.

{You know, she's right about the anger management thing. You should see someone—} Apple must have seen my thoughts turn violent because she stopped midsentence. {Geeze, I was just kidding. If anything, you should take your anger out in this battle.}

I nodded. We reached the manager, who was already splitting up the seven winners of the previous round into battling pairs.

"Alright. N' you over there," The tournament guy pointed to a small, scrawny kid. "You're with this young-a lady who got a bye 'n the last round."

"But it's not fair! She shouldn't be allowed in—" the kid started to complain, but the tournament manager cut him off.

"I make the rules 'ere, lil' fellow. You'll be battling this lassie."

My lingering irritation prevented me from fully feeling the gratitude I owed the manager, but I managed to give him a feeble smile. Then I turned to scowl at the scrawny boy, who looked like he was ten (though that couldn't be the case). We walked to an open area and waited for the manager's whistle to begin the battle.

I decided to attempt politeness, despite my mood. "What's your name? I'm Anita."

The boy sneered, "Peter."

Awkward silence.

The whistle sounded before either of us could say another word.

"Go, Apple!"

"Go, Buggy!"

{Ooh. What a creative name,} Apple snickered sarcastically as the boy released a Caterpie from its Pokeball.

{Apple, focus! Remember your training, and remember not to use any attacks that an Eevee shouldn't know. No psychic!}

"Apple, quick attack!" I shouted.

"Buggy, tack—"

Peter shouted too late. Buggy had already fainted and the battle was already over.

Apple stared in surprise for a second and then started celebrating by running around in circles.

{Yippie! We won our first real battle! Oh yeah! Go us!}

{Apple, you realize we only beat a Caterpie.}

Apple stopped and considered a moment. {A win is still a win.} She shrugged and continued her celebration.

I smiled my first genuine smile of the day, shook Peter's hand, and then returned to where Erin was seated to watch the remaining battlers. My other Pokemon were cheering— well, mostly Splash was cheering. The others were smiling, or in Fiery's case, grimacing, as they finished the last of their food. Apple joined them, receiving looks of admiration from the younger Eevees until Fiery snapped, {It was a Caterpie, for goodness sake!}

"I wonder what the boy beat to make it to the second round," Erin remarked.

Probably a Magikarp, I thought but did not answer.

When Erin continued to babble, I was able to ignore her by focusing on the three remaining battles and my upcoming opponents. I watched a Bidoof exchange attacks with an Oddish and a tough looking Quilava knock a female Nidoran to the ground. The Spearow I had seen earlier was easily beating a Rattata by attacking and then taking flight.

I suddenly felt something budge near my leg. I looked down and found Splash staring up at me with wide eyes.

{Can I please battle? Please?} the little Eevee pleaded.

I sighed. {No, Splash. I am going to use Fiery this round, and you are not going to battle until you are fully recovered.}

{But—}

{No.}

I ended the discussion by turning to Fiery. {Ready?}

Fiery nodded.

{What! I don't get to battle?} Apple whined.

{I need to train all of my Pokemon,} I reminded Apple.

Apple scowled.

The three battles finally finished (with the Quilava, Spearow, and Bidoof the victors), and the manager assigned me to battle the girl with the Spearow. It was probably her only Pokemon because she had not used any other creatures in any of her battles thus far.

"Alright, C'mon Fiery!" I shouted as the whistle signaled the start of the battle.

"Let's go, Arrow!" the girl yelled as she sent out her Spearow.

I ordered a quick attack, but the Spearow dodged into the air.

"Arrow, peck!"

The Spearow hit Fiery before I could order a retaliation. Fiery fell down, but quickly got back up snarling.

When Fiery saw the Spearow was already out of reach in the air, he called, {Hey, bird-brain, get your little bird-butt down here and fight me!}

The Spearow responded by taking a dump on Fiery's head.

{Did you just crap on me!} Fiery howled. The Spearow dove in for another peck attack, but I was prepared this time.

"Iron-tail!"

Fiery lit up his tail and flung it over his body just as the Spearow made contact. Both Pokemon were sent flying.

"Fiery, tackle him while he's still on the ground!"

"Arrow, take flight!"

Fiery hit the Spearow before it could take off.

"Alright, finish it Fiery!"

Fiery's tail lit up again, but just as he was about to smash it into the Spearow, the bird-Pokemon managed to flap off of the ground. Fiery's tail slashed uselessly through the air.

My opponent commanded a fury-attack, and I quickly instructed Fiery to try another iron-tail. The Spearow, however, attacked in the second it took for Fiery's tail to light up, and then once again fluttered just beyond Fiery's reach.

{Err, we need to think of a way to get that Pokemon out of the air,} I thought to Fiery. {We'll never win if it keeps up this strike and run tactic. Do you know any long range attacks?}

{No,} Fiery growled bitterly, as he attempted to dodge another peck attack. He was too tired to move quickly and was hit.

"Let's finish with a whirlwind!"

The Spearow started to flap its wings rapidly and the wind picked up. I suddenly had an idea.

"Fiery, stand still!"

Fiery narrowed his eyes at me but did nothing, as I had requested. The wind swirled around him.

{Hold onto the ground until I tell you to let go,} I requested. {Then, launch yourself into the air toward the Sparrow using an iron tail to push off the ground.}

Fiery nodded. The winds picked up. Dust twirled in the whirlwind.

{Now!}

Fiery slammed his lit-up tail into the ground and went flying up the whirlwind. The wind increased his velocity as he shot toward the Spearow. The Spearow stopped flapping, unsure of how to respond. Just before Fiery hit, the Pokemon uttered its first words of the battle, {Fiddle-Farfetch'd-sticks.}

Both Pokemon plummeted toward the ground, but Fiery used a quick attack against the Spearow to decrease his own speed and increase the Spearow's just before hitting the ground. The Spearow did not get up again.

"Anita n' her Eevee are de' victors!" announced the tournament manager. I looked around and realized that everyone had been watching our battle. The fight between the boy with the Quilava and the other kid with the Bidoof must not have lasted long.

I ran over to Fiery and scooped him into a hug. {You were amazing!}

Fiery tried to look angry at me, but a small smirk gave away his satisfaction.

I shook hands with the girl I had just battled and started walking toward Erin and my other Pokemon. Then it dawned on me that I did not get a break this time because my battle had taken longer than the other one. I hurried to Erin, and plopped a tired Fiery down in her lap. The younger Eevees ran to congratulate their brother, who was nearly falling asleep, and I silently cursed myself for not buying potions.

Erin gave me a thumbs up and winked at me when I yelled a frantic, "Thank you!" I gathered Apple in my arms and hurried back to the open battling area.

As I rushed back to the field, I studied Apple a moment. She had not said a word to me since the battle. I was surprised to see she was frowning slightly and had a gloomy look in her eyes. When I reached out with my mind to hear her thoughts, I was even more surprised to be forcefully shoved out.

"Apple, are you ok?" I whispered as I reached the grass clearing. Several spectators had gathered and were chatting excitedly.

Apple only nodded.

"Right-y-o folks!" the tournament manager proclaimed. Apparently, he decided that there were enough people watching and this final battle was important enough for him to announce into a microphone. "Here we have a 'lil lady named Anita Parkwood n' one o her Eevees. N' she's against this blond lad called Jake Veneer n' his Quilava. I think we're in for a good battle! Now, let's get this battle started before the sun starts a-settin'!"

I looked up and realized that the sun was no longer beating down with midafternoon intensity. I refocused my attention on my opponent and was startled to find his face quite striking. He had a sharp jaw, brilliant blue eyes, and had arranged his sun-bleached dirty-blond hair into small spikes that stuck up in random directions.

A whistle blew.

Oh, right, I had a battle to win.

I tried to talk to Apple psychically as she leapt out of my arms to the battle field, but she was still blocking me. I was starting to get nervous. I had never battled with Apple without being able to communicate with her silently. A flicker of irritation crossed my mind as I wondered what her reasoning was.

"Quill, go!" Jake yelled as he released his Quilava in a flash of red.

"Apple, c'mon!" I half yelled, half pleaded.

Apple picked up on the double meaning of the phrase.

She shook her head.

And for the first time since I had met Apple, I felt disconnected. Alone.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

Emotional.

A word I would never use to describe myself.

Except that was exactly what I was at the moment.

I winced and nodded as Anita asked me if I was okay, but I continued to block her out. She could not see me like this! I had never lost my cool with her! I was always her playful, friendly, kick-butt Pokemon! I was observant and knowledgeable; I didn't waste my time on petty feelings!

But now, now I was feeling more than I ever had in my life and each feeling seemed to create another and all the feelings were all jumbled around and overwhelming me and—

I took a deep breath. Okay, maybe if I could sort out the feelings I could control them.

The first feeling was the pang I felt when I watched Fiery battle and be hugged by Anita. It was… what do humans call it? Jealousy. I was jealous of Fiery for being stronger than me, for beating me, and for defeating a tough Spearow that I don't think I could have overcome. I was jealous of the attention and care Anita gave him.

Which leads me to the next feeling: shame. I was ashamed for feeling jealous of the attention Anita gave Fiery because I knew that she cared about me just as much as she cared about Fiery. It's just that I had never had to share Anita with anyone before.

This whole situation was completely embarrassing. I was embarrassed for feeling jealous, for feeling this petty emotion when I was supposed to be the one who always kept her cool. I was embarrassed to be a legend in hiding, a legend experiencing stupid feelings.

A weak legend.

Most of all, I was feeling sorry for myself. Sorry that I was a weak Pokemon. Sorry that Anita got stuck with pitiful me— a legendary Pokemon who couldn't hold her own against a crappy wet Charizard or a dumb, average Eevee. Sorry that I had to hide from the world I was so weak. Sorry that my weakness caused me to experience stupid emotions that made me even weaker. Sorry that I was a disappointment.

I felt Anita try to reach my mind again, momentarily distracting me from the downward spiral of my thoughts. My organization of emotions technique was failing. I still had so many feelings.

I couldn't deal with it. I had to distract myself. I looked around desperately and spotted Erin. I opened my mind to listen to her thoughts. She was thinking about how attractive a human male with blond spiky hair was for a moment, but then she reconsidered. She was suddenly contemplating the uselessness of males in general and how it was pointless to imagine any of them attractive. The distraction was a sufficient one, for I started wondering why she thought that way and who the boy was.

Then I noticed she was staring at someone. That someone was the boy she was trying not to think about, and he was standing across from me and Anita in a stance that suggested he was ready for a battle.

A whistle blew.

That's it!

The battle!

The perfect solution _and_ the perfect distraction. I had to win this battle! If I won, I would prove to myself and everyone that I was not weak! I would prove there was no need for me to be jealous of Fiery! Not only that, but for the time being, the battle would distract me from my emotions.

But I could not let Anita into my head yet. Not until I was sufficiently engrossed in the battle.

I leapt from Anita's arms and blocked Anita from my head again. A wave of shame swept over me. I felt awful for keeping Anita from reading my thoughts. We had shared our thoughts and feelings for so long that not being connected felt like we were missing part of ourselves.

However, I still could not allow Anita to see my thoughts and feelings in such a weak state. It would only cause her more worry and me more shame. No, I would wait.

The spiky boy sent out his Quilava.

"C'mon, Apple," Anita said in a voice that probably sounded like a normal way to start the battle to most people. To me however, it sounded like she was asking me to let her into my mind. I shook my head "no". I was not yet ready.

The battle began.

The Quilava grinned at me with razor sharp teeth. "Hey, little kitty," he taunted just before racing at me in a quick attack.

Kitty? Excuse me; I was most certainly not a kitty! Did the long ears mean anything to anyone?

"Use your quick attack too, Apple!" I heard Anita command.

I was faster than the Quilava. I dodged around him, and then hit him from behind. The Quilava swiftly turned to tackle me, but I was already speeding away.

A pattern began. Anita was using the hit and run tactic the Spearow had used against us. I hit the Quilava when I could, but made it my priority to dodge his attacks. I felt something was not right though. The Quilava continued to smirk at me the whole time, even when I managed to hit him. It was like he and his trainer were just waiting for something. I was tempted to read his mind, but I knew Anita would not approve.

As the battle wore on, I grew more confident. Even though the Quilava's smirk unnerved me, I felt that if the Pokemon was able to beat me, he would have already done so. Finally, I felt good enough to reconnect with Anita.

{Apple! What happened? Are you ok?} Anita's thoughts were so loud I nearly jumped.

I did not allow myself to think about the questions she asked. I concentrated on the battle. {Anita, focus on the battle. I think they might be up to something,} I relayed while dodging another tackle.

{Me too. That boy has just been smiling the whole time at me.}

{What I think is really weird is that he hasn't used a single fire attack yet.} I narrowed my eyes at my opponent. {Can I _please_ read his mind?}

{No. We cannot risk discovery. You have to act like a normal Eevee, and plus isn't that kind of like cheating?}

I snorted and tackled Quilava again. {Using what you have isn't cheating.}

Before Anita could retort, black smoke filled the area. I automatically used to my psychic powers to locate the Quilava and give him a bite attack.

{NO! Apple, you can't use your psychic like that! What if—} I ignored my trainer and held onto the Quilava as tight as I could.

I had finally taken the stupid smirk off the Quilava's face.

"Quill, shake it off!" I heard the Quilava's trainer yell.

The Quilava thrashed, and I was finally thrown off.

To my amusement, Anita was frantically thinking of ways to stop me from using my psychic powers.

"Apple, use dig!"

I grimaced for less than a moment. I hated that attack. However, I wouldn't disobey Anita. I dug underground, and then realized that Anita had indeed stopped me from using my psychic powers. Pokemon performing a dig attack used the vibrations in the ground to figure out where an opposing Pokemon was located. Of course, I could use my psychic powers anyway, but the point is nobody would know either way.

I located the Quilava, and attacked him from underneath. "Hey, little weasel," I snickered. The Quilava went flying, as the attack was super effective.

"Finally!" the opposing trainer exclaimed. "Quill, finish it! Flame wheel!"

Even though the Quilava was weak from my attacks, he was grinning madly. The flames around his body were so hot they glowed blue.

My eyes widened as I my mind pieced together what our opponent's strategy was. The Quilava had been conserving his fire, slowly making it hotter and hotter within his body. He waited until he was weakest to release it because his ability, blaze, made his fire attacks strongest when he was weakest.

The heat he had been building up combined with his blaze ability would wipe out almost anything.

Shit.

The blue flames raced toward me.

{Apple, jump in the hole!}

It was too late.

The flames engulfed me, just like they did when I had fought the Charizard.

Once again, I failed.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"How's she doing?" Erin asked as she walked in the room.

I looked to the Eevee sleeping on my lap. Immediately after the battle I had rushed to the Pokemon center to get her and Fiery healed. Nurse Joy had said they would both be fine, but had requested I let Apple sleep for a bit. I was now sitting in Erin's room with all of my Pokemon except Apple in their Pokeballs. The younger Eevees needed their rest too, but they seemed unable to get it outside their balls.

"She's fine," I told Erin, "The nurse just requested that she rest."

Erin paused a moment.

"I have a note for you." Erin took a piece of paper out of her pocket, and handed it to me.

I looked at the crumpled paper suspiciously and then read it.

Dear Challenger,

Though you may not have known it, by being in the final four of the tournament you have the opportunity to attempt a battle against me, the gym leader of Azul City. If you can find my gym by noon tomorrow, I will accept your challenge. My gym is located no more than half of a mile away from the spot you battled on today. Being in the final four and finding my gym by noon are the only conditions you must meet in order to challenge me. If you cannot find my gym by noon tomorrow, do not bother looking further. You will have another opportunity to find my gym if you make it to the final four when the next tournament is held.

I hope to see you soon.

Best Regards,  
Abalina Sycamore

I looked at Erin again and said, "Thanks." Then I went back to watching Apple sleep in my lap.

Erin seemed to not know what to do. "Umm," she started awkwardly. "Well, I wanted to let you know a few things. First of all, I guess I don't have to show you where the gym is because you already found it. Or rather, you found where to start. Most people don't know it, but the tournaments held in this park are what the gym leader uses to stop weak trainers from battling her every other second. She changes the location of her gym door before every tournament to stop such nuisances from bothering her. "

Erin opened her mouth to say more, but then abruptly closed it. She played with her hair nervously, and then seemed to make a decision.

"Secondly," she continued. "I think you're a really great trainer. I know this is corny, but you shouldn't let a loss like this get to you. And I want to ask you… no, I demand that you allow me to travel with you, at least until you reach Cape Caution. You owe me, remember?"

I said nothing and then nodded. As much as I really did not want to travel with her, I did owe her for finding my Eevees and for helping me thus far.

"Thirdly." Erin grinned. "What kind of pizza do you like?"

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

After an hour, Erin left to pick up the mushroom pizza she had ordered for us. I was left to stare out the bedroom window and contemplate the battle against the Quilava.

Strangely enough, the fact that I had lost did not bother me. From the start of this journey (was it only two days ago?), I knew that there would be times that I lost battles, and I had made a pact with myself to not become too upset after losing. Instead, I would try to learn from my mistakes and then move on.

What really bothered me was that Apple had blocked me out of her head. I tried not to focus on it during the battle because it would distract me, but now I wanted to know why Apple had hindered our communication.

Apple stirred in my lap, ruffling the bedcovers. I immediately reached to her mind. {Apple?}

Apple stiffened.

{Apple, are—} Apple shoved me out of her mind again. She started shaking.

"Apple what's wrong!" I held her up so I could see if she was physically hurt.

Apple shook and whimpered.

I didn't know what to do.

Apple was still blocking me so I couldn't get to her mind, and she wouldn't reach out to mine. I panicked.

With all my strength and willpower I drove myself into my Pokemon's mind. Suddenly I was flooded with so many confusing emotions, it was overwhelming.

Whoa. Is this what Apple was feeling?

To my shock, the strongest feeling was one of self-worthlessness. How could Apple think she was so insignificant? At first, all I could do was share the pain and emotions with the Mew. I had never delved so deep into someone's mind before. I had never even gone further than listen to what a Pokemon wanted to communicate, which isn't even the full extent of a being's thoughts. Occasionally, I sensed an emotion from Apple, but it had to be particularly strong for me to "hear" it.

Eventually, I figured I should try communicating with my mind as Apple had showed me to do. The only problem was that it felt like I was actually in Apple's mind so I didn't know if it would work the same way.

{APPLE!} I tried to get Apple's attention, but her mind was so chaotic there was no way to tell if she heard me.

Well, I had gotten this far into Apple's mind. Could I go farther? Was there even more than this? I pushed my way inward and suddenly found myself surrounded by fire. The orange flames licked at my feet but had no affect.

Where in the world was I? I saw a pink blob in the fire resembling Apple as I had found her when she was beaten by the Charizard.

{Apple?}

The pink blob looked at me with wild, frightened eyes. Then there was a flicker of recognition, and suddenly the flames got higher. The pink blob shivered.

{APPLE! Stop this! It's all in your head!}

The words did not seem to affect the pink blob.

I searched her emotions for more clues.

Self-loathing. Shame. Embarrassment. Weakness. Jealousy.

All building upon each other. I searched for the stimulant of such emotions. These emotions were what Apple was hiding from me before the battle so it could not have been the battle that solely caused this flood of emotion.

I almost laughed when I found the main instigator. It was a jealousy of Fiery. Of course, years of hiding from the world, the battle, and feeling weak all added fuel, but jealousy was the spark.

{APPLE! THIS IS NONSENSE! YOU ARE NOT WEAK!}

Nothing changed.

{APPLE, I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR JEALOUSY OF FIERY. IT'S A NORMAL PART OF LIFE, AND AT SOME POINT WE ALL GET THAT FEELING. IT IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED ABOUT!}

Nothing. I got desperate and turned to bullshitting sentiments that never work.

{YOU ARE TAKING THIS JEALOUSY THE WRONG WAY. MAKE IT A DRIVE TO BETTER YOURSELF!}

Still nothing. Oh crap, what if she was dying?

{APPLE, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND! WE'VE BEEN THROUGH EVERYTHING TOGETHER SO DON'T YOU DARE ABANDON ME NOW! I NEED YOU!}

I spoke from my heart, and the last three words seemed to get through. The flames melted into the ground and the pink blob seemed to evaporate. I was left alone in empty space.

{Thank you, Anita.}

I sighed in relief, and pulled myself into my own body.

Apple squirmed in my lap and began to cry. I joined her.

When we were finally reduced to just sniffles, Apple looked into my eyes and whimpered, {I'm sorry… for everything.}

I just hugged her.

The room was darkened as the evening light faded.

Apple giggled weakly. {I suppose I owe you an explanation, and you still owe me a lesson. What do you say we combine the two?}

{Sure, but I already understand why you shut me out. You were hiding your feelings. Still, no matter what you are feeling, don't ever do that again! Look what it has driven us to!}

Apple shifted uncomfortably from my lap to the bedcovers. {Aren't you upset and disappointed in me for having these feelings?}

{Apple, where did you get that silly notion! Of course I'm not disappointed! Everyone has feelings, and we can't control them sometimes.} I thought back to all the times I had lost my temper. {I know that better than anyone.}

Apple threw a halfhearted grin at me when she saw what I was thinking. {I happen to disagree with that, but I don't want to argue about it now. Anyway, why I blocked you is not the explanation I was talking about. It is how I blocked you out and how you got into my mind that I need to explain to you.}

I sighed as I finally realized what Apple meant by giving me a lesson. Well, it was bound to happen sometime.

{As you discovered today, the mind is like an onion; there are several layers. Telepathy penetrates the outermost level. Actually, not even that. Telepathy is more like the area around the onion, the tiny particles of the onion that are most concentrated around the onion and form a scent. Telepathy is receiving thoughts that someone is trying to project. That is why you can understand all Pokemon; when they speak, they are also projecting their thoughts.

{The next layer you can penetrate is emotion. This is why you can see exactly what others are feeling, and this is why I chose to block you. I knew you would see all of my disgusting emotions.} Apple looked down sadly.

{Err, Apple, you're wrong there. I barely have ever gone past the first level. Occasionally I'll feel what you are feeling, but only if it's really strong, and I only feel it for a second or two. I probably wouldn't have known your feelings even if you weren't blocking me out.}

Apple looked at me in surprise. {Really? I assumed… Well, it's just one more thing we'll have to practice. Anyway, underneath emotions are thoughts you do not wish to speak, and beneath that are memories. Deeper than memories, well it's hard to say exactly what is there, but it sure is something. That is where you were in me today.

{Now to the whole blocking business. It's possible to make barriers in your mind to keep people out, and it's actually rather simple. You just imagine a strong protective bubble around your mind to keep everything else out. It would be like putting an onion in a plastic bag. Its scent stays in the bag and all the other scents stay out. You got into my mind today by drilling a hole through my bag right to the center of my onion.

{There is one type of barrier, you should know, that cannot be broken through. You know how I explained gifts before, right? Well, if you have a dark type gift, everything psychic does not affect you. Thus, psychics cannot get into their actual mind. It is like their onions are always encased in diamonds—}

I cut Apple off. {Back up a bit. I think I understand the idea of picking up other's thoughts, but then how am I able to project my own. If my thoughts are just wafting around my mind, how can I direct them at you or my other Pokemon?}

{Well, unlike normal people and Pokemon, you can control where your thoughts go. Let's go back to pretending your thoughts are an onion's scent. If you put a fan in front of the onion, you can direct where the scent goes. That is what you can do. You can direct your thoughts to where thoughts of non-psychics are located so even non-psychics can see your thoughts. You're really good at this part because you've been doing this for years!}

I was taken aback. {Years? You just taught me!}

{Na, you've been doing it to me since we met. Its how I knew you were a psychic!}

{I always knew that purple eye stuff was a bunch of bologna,} I thought to myself.

{Hey! I heard that! And anyway, I wasn't done explaining so shush up!} She paused to make sure I wasn't going to say anything. I complied. {Of course, the first time we talked psychically, I was the one reaching my mind out. After that though, you may have assumed I was always listening to your thoughts, but really, you reached your mind out to me. You never tried it with anyone else because you never believed they would hear you.}

{And you didn't tell me this before because…}

Apple shrugged. {You didn't need to know.}

{But now I do?} I asked doubtfully.

{Now you do,} Apple confirmed. {Wow, all this talking has made me feel better.}

{Oh yes,} I said sarcastically. {Discussing the intricate details of powers I don't want to believe in always cheers me up!} I decided to change the subject before Apple could force me into another lesson. {So are you up for a gym battle tomorrow?} I reached my mind out to Apple, and felt what she was feeling. I felt her uncertainty, her self-worthlessness, and her shame. It was not as strong as before, her self doubt lingered, as it must have for years past.

Apple locked eyes with me, and I knew that she knew that I could feel what she was feeling.

Apple smiled wickedly, and then scoffed sarcastically, {Of course! What in the world would give you the impression that I wasn't ready?}

I snorted.

We sat there grinning at each other, and at that moment, we understood each other better than ever before.

Apple's grin widened and so did mine.

I knew exactly what Apple was thinking without reading her mind.

Apple knew exactly what I was thinking without reading my mind.

So it was no surprise when at the same time, we bellowed,

{WHERE IS OUR PIZZA?}


	9. Clash

Chapter 7: Clash

"Anita Parkwood…" I muttered to myself. "If Miss Goldenthrill's information is accurate, the time this girl was outside the Goldenthrill mansion and the time Pokemon X appeared coincide exactly." It seemed like too much of a coincidence to me. I turned to my assistant, his face hidden by the dark shading of the room. "Tell me, is it possible that the girl made up her account in order to get revenge on Miss Parkwood?"

"I have already considered that,_ sir_." The assistant flashed a grin. "In fact, it is highly likely that she told us of Miss Parkwood to get revenge. However, our sources in Azul City did, in fact, reveal that Miss Parkwood entered the city with another girl less than an hour later. Thus, it seems likely that Miss Goldenthrill was not lying about Miss Parkwood stopping at her house."

I considered the situation for a moment. I finally asked, "Who was this other girl? The one Miss Parkwood entered the city with?"

"Erin Kendle," came my assistant's ready reply. "She is a research assistant in one of the labs in Azul City and is known to leave the city often in order to obtain information about the local Pokemon."

"And this Erin Kendle was not with Miss Parkwood at Miss Goldenthrill's house?"

"Assuming Miss Goldenthrill did not lie, that is correct," my assistant confirmed.

"Well, it seems we need to take Anita Parkwood, and possibly Erin Kendle, in for questioning."

"Shall I order their capture?"

I thought for a moment. "No."

My assistant was shocked. "What! Why not?" He narrowed his eyes in an accusatory manner.

His reaction did not surprise me. Usually, when we wanted information from a person the normal procedure was to kidnap the person and force the information out of them.

"Let's consider the situation." I spoke carefully and quietly, thus ensuing that my assistant was paying attention and I would not need to repeat myself. "We know that Pokemon X appeared twice. Both appearances were in between Melonbi Town and Miss Goldenthrill's mansion, and the second appearance was closer to the mansion. We also know that around the same time, Anita Parkwood was traveling from Melonbi Town to Azul City, and she stopped at the mansion. I would say there is a 90% chance that she at least saw Pokemon X. However, it seems strange for both Pokemon X and Miss Parkwood to be traveling the same path at the same time. Thus, I believe there is a 60% chance that either Miss Parkwood was following Pokemon X or Pokemon X was following Miss Parkwood. We also have to consider the possibility that Pokemon X is traveling with this girl, though admittedly, that seems rather unlikely."

"What is your point?" I could here a slight tone of derision in his voice. Disrespect was so… annoying.

I rolled my eyes as if I thought he should have figured it out already. Of course, I was really only rolling my eyes in retaliation to his disrespect. "I believe we can learn more by investigating this girl further. Torturing her may get some results, but watching her can probably give us more information, as well as possibly the opportunity to capture Pokemon X."

"Oh, I see your brilliant scheme now!" my assistant said sarcastically. "Watching this girl will magically lead to the capture of the legendary, mysterious Pokemon X!"

I replied calmly, "Pokemon X appeared to this girl twice. It will likely happen again."

"Right." He was obviously not convinced. For the moment, though, he played along. "Even if we assume that watching the girl is the right way to go about the situation, how can we accomplish that without being detected? She's bound to notice someone following her."

I grinned. I had a plan. "Don't worry about that. It will all be taken care of."

"What does that mean?" my assistant sneered.

"It means you will not have to do a thing. I have already set up everything."

"And are you going to tell me, exactly what you have set up?"

"No."

My assistant growled.

"I will, however, tell you what you need to know and what you need to do. First of all, I am leaving for the next month or two, and you will be in charge while I am away."

My assistant smiled brilliantly at that, as I knew he would. I hated to entrust him with so much power, but I had more important matters to attend to...

It finally dawned on my assistant that I had told him I was leaving. "Wait…_Master_." He said the word with contempt. "Where are you going?"

"My exact whereabouts are not important. I will be doing some research that pertains to Pokemon X. I will give you a phone you can use to reach me if there is an emergency or if you have found any more information about Pokemon X. Otherwise, I will call periodically to check up on the organization.

"You are to continue running this organization as it has been run for years. You will find, steal, and sell rare Pokemon for money, and continue hunting for and gathering information about Pokemon X… without stalking Miss Parkwood. I will have someone most trustworthy doing that."

A little too fast, my assistant asked, "Who?"

I smirked. I had learned long ago that he saw anyone I thought was trustworthy as a rival. "A relative of mine. He will be able to contact me and you if he discovers anything or succeeds in capturing Pokemon X. You are not to interfere with him or his methods of gaining information. You and the rest of Team Glop'emm shall pretend that we never found anything suspicious about Anita Parkwood and go back to the usual business. None of our agents, aside from my… detective, shall spy on Miss Parkwood; at this point, we cannot risk being discovered."

"And what if your _special _detective fails?" my assistant questioned edgily.

"He will not."

My assistant growled louder, "But what if?"

Of course my assistant disliked my ingenious plan. He would have no influence over information discovered about Pokemon X or the actual capturing of Pokemon X. I was tempted to become angry with my assistant for questioning my plan, but if I lost my cool with the assistant, respect and dignity would be lost as well.

I quickly came up with a way to appease my assistant. I calmly responded, "If in five weeks from today my detective has not come up with any new information, you may order her capture."

My assistant narrowed his eyes at me. "Does that mean you will not be back by then?"

"I do not know," I answered honestly.

My assistant was lost in thought for a second. Finally, he asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Now." I rose from my desk, and pulled my hood up over my head. I turned back to my assistant. "Do not inform the rest of the team of my departure until three hours after I leave the building. Do not attempt to follow me or find me when I am gone. I will not hesitate to use physical force, even on my own team members." I pulled a walkie-talkie-like device out of my pocket and handed it to my assistant. "Press the green button to contact me, and press the red button to contact the detective. Do not press either button unless there is an emergency or you find more information about Pokemon X. If our machine finds Pokemon X again, call my detective immediately, and then inform me." I turned to exit the room.

My assistant grumbled something about never even fully seeing my face. I smiled widely at that. My precaution of always meeting others in shaded light or wearing a hood was finally going to pay off. Even if my assistant saw me in broad day light, he would not recognize me. The last time I had shown my face to anybody on Team Glop'emm was before my father died. I had changed a lot since then.

My hand was on the door knob when my assistant said, "Wait!"

I paused.

"What about your _other_ responsibilities?"

"Close it down," I answered curtly. Then an idea hit me. "Actually, put up a sign saying that the prelim has been changed to finding me." I grinned. The other gym leaders would not be able to replace me or punish me for leaving, and no challenger was actually going to find me because I had never showed my face in public.

Before my assistant could stall my departure any longer, I left the room. After navigating the twists and turns of the building and ignoring the stares of grunts as I passed by, I finally opened a door to the outside world.

I breathed in the fresh air, and pulled out a Pokeball.

For the first time in my life, I was free. Free of responsibility, free to leave Drape Town, free to be on my own.

Good-bye old life.

Hello world.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I kicked a shrub and shouted, "THIS IS SO STUPID!"

{And that's number 57.}

I turned and kicked another shrub near Apple so hard that the shrub was uprooted and hit Apple in the face.

{58.}

I looked at my watch. It was 11:30. We had started searching for the gym at 7:00 this morning. Four and a half hours! It was only in the past hour that I had resorted to kicking shrubs out of frustration, and Apple had boredly started counting them.

"You've knocked over so many shrubs people are going to think a Tauros rampaged through here," Erin commented. My roommate had been no help whatsoever. She just followed me through these godforsaken woods and ignored me every time I asked her to help me find the gym.

Apple had been even less of a help than Erin.

_{Why can't you locate it with your psychic powers?} I had asked her._

_{Because you can use your own psychic abilities to locate the gym,} Apple replied._

_{I don't know how!}_

_{So I can teach you.}_

I had naturally refused Apple's offer, and thus had spent the morning searching through the entire park for the seemingly nonexistent gym.

I collapsed onto a boulder and curled up into a ball. "What am I going to do?" I muttered to myself.

{The psychic deal is still available.}

I ignored Apple. Erin patted me on the back. "I'm sure you'll find it somewhere, and if not, you can enter the tournament next Thursday while I get a half off manicure."

Ah, maybe that was why she wasn't helping me. Stupid manicure.

I randomly wondered if any of the other final four trainers had found the gym. I ran into the Spearow girl just as I entered the park this morning but had not seen any of the others. Maybe they had already found the gym.

How did they do it? How could I do it?

I had avoided asking my other Eevees for help because the younger ones were a magnet for trouble, and I thought Fiery would probably refuse. Now, however, it was getting late, and I had nothing to lose. I released the five siblings from their Pokeballs.

Allo yawned and stretched.

{I rather like being in my Pokeball,} Vanilla declared. {It is good for my beauty rest.}

{It's not too bad,} Splash added. {but the real world is much more exciting.}

"Alright, everybody," I interrupted the conversation. "I would like your help in finding the gym in these woods. I'm not entirely sure what the gym looks like, but because there are no buildings in here, I assume it must be underground. So we might be looking for a hole in the ground or a door…" I stopped talking when I noticed the four youngest Eevees were staring at me intently. "What?"

Surprisingly, Sunflower was the first to respond. Quietly, she murmured, {Anita, how do you spell gym?}

I looked at her, confused. {G-Y-M,} I answered. {Why?}

{We know where it is.}

Splash was so excited he started running in circles. {Come on, we'll show you!}

The four young Eevees bounded into the forest. The rest of us followed.

{Slow down!} Fiery ordered. The young Eevees ignored him.

"Where are they going?" Erin panted as we ran after the Eevees.

I had to keep reminding myself that she couldn't hear and didn't know about my conversations with my Pokemon. "I'm not sure, but maybe they already know where the gym is."

Suddenly, the young Eevees stopped. I nearly toppled over them, but I managed to catch a tree branch and stop myself. There was a hole I would have fallen into just beyond where the Eevees were standing, and next to the hole was a wooden sign that read "GYM."

{Wow. I should have asked for your help soon—} I started, but was cut off by Fiery.

{When did you have time to find this hole?} he growled.

Oh, crap. This was a bad way for him to find out about me losing the four Eevees.

Before I could even begin to think up an explanation, Splash answered, {We found it when we went exploring yesterday!}

Allo and I exchanged horrified glances. Vanilla didn't look disturbed by Splash's revelation, but Sunflower was watching with wide terrified eyes.

"Umm, Anita, we found the gym. Why aren't we going in?" Erin asked. I had a feeling that if I returned everyone to their Pokeballs now, Fiery would be even more upset with me. I shushed Erin.

{And when did you have time to go exploring?} Fiery was glowering.

Splash answered easily, {When you were training yesterday, we got bored and ran off for a bit.}

Vanilla's calm disposition shifted suddenly. {You mean _you_ got bored yesterday, Allo didn't want you to hurt yourself so he followed, and Sunflower and I had to follow you two or be left alone,} she said angrily.

{You didn't seem to have a problem leaving Anita and Fiery yesterday,} Splash sneered.

{ENOUGH!} Fiery yelled. {I'm ashamed of all of you!} He turned to Splash, {I don't care how bored you are, you are not to just leave without telling anyone, especially now, when you are supposed to be resting!}

For once, Splash did not retort.

Fiery looked at Allo, Vanilla, and Sunflower. {You three should have stopped your brother from leaving. You should know better than to go along with his risky plans! All of you could have been hurt!}

Allo looked especially shamefaced while staring at his paws.

Fiery turned to me. He snarled, {And you promised to look after them.} I backed away slowly, scared shitless of an attack, but Fiery just sighed. {But you did find them, and for that I am grateful.}

I decided not to mention that Erin had actually found them.

"Anita, it's getting kinda late. I don't know what's going on, but I think you should get in the gym if you want to challenge Abalina," Erin said. She continued to watch the Eevees with a puzzled look on her face. Of course, all she could hear was "Ee-vee-vee" and such, but from their tone she seemed to understand there was some problem. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Err." I put the best confused look on my face. "I don't know. Sounds like an argument to me. They're all related, except Apple, so maybe its some sort of family dispute."

Erin narrowed her eyes at me. "How do you know they are related?"

Crud, Apple had told me that.

{Uh, oh. She's starting to get suspicious.} Apple smirked.

{No, duh,} I snapped at Apple. Then to Erin, I feebly answered, "Nurse Joy told me when I picked them up."

Erin looked like she as going to say something more so to change the subject I hastily announced, "I'm going down now."

{I thought you wanted to win,} Apple snickered.

Splash added, {Bu-bump-chhhh.}

To Fiery, I silently apologized, {I'm sorry for not keeping track of your brothers and sisters. It won't happen again.}

Fiery nodded.

{Will you still battle?} I silently prayed for a "yes".

Fiery hesitated and then nodded. I sighed in relief, and then pulled out four Pokeballs.

{I can't have you four causing trouble.}

After returning the four young Eevees, I peered into the hole. A soothing aroma seemed to flow out of the hole, and there was a ladder to the dark bottom. Without hesitating, I started climbing down the ladder.

Apple jumped onto my shoulder. Fiery didn't seem to know what to do until Apple pointed to my other shoulder with a paw and said, {Come on!}

I grumbled to myself about the extra weight as I descended.

{Ugh, do you smell that?} Apple pawed at her nose.

I took a whiff and nearly fell off the ladder. The smell was so overpoweringly sweet it made me feel sick and I had to breathe through only my mouth to keep from fainting.

When I reached the bottom, I saw a faint light to my right so I started walking toward it.

"Hey, Anita, where are you?" Erin called when she reached the bottom. I heard her take a breath and then cough. "Eww. This place is creepy and stinky."

"I'm walking toward that faint light," I responded. We silently walked down what seemed to be a tunnel. I soon realized that the faint light was actually light reflecting off of a cave wall. This light was coming from around a corner we could not see from the ladder.

I turned the corner and suddenly found myself bombarded with light. Only after a minute of blinking could I actually see again.

"Wow," I stated, dumbfounded by the beautiful sight. Wild green grass filled most of the ground, except for the few violet flowers and large trees scattered about the terrain. There was a small pond to my left filled with lilies and algae. Around the pond Oddish evolutions and Sunfloras sat, danced, and played. Well, that explained the smell.

I wondered where the bright light was coming from so I looked up. Lights as bright as the sun filled the ceiling, making my eyes water and forcing me to look away.

Finally, I noticed two figures directly in front of me, not fifty yards away. A tall, beautiful lady was shaking a blond boy's hand. She looked up, saw me, and grinned. The boy looked at me too, and I realized he was the boy with the Quilava that I had battled yesterday. They both started walking toward me.

"Hey, nice battle yesterday," the boy said, smirking, as he finally reached me.

"Yes, it was," I replied politely.

{Not for me it wasn't!} Apple chirped to me.

"It seems we never got to formally introduce ourselves. I am Jake," he announced, a little too dramatically in my opinion. "Jake Veneer."

"Anita Parkwood."

He took my hand and seemed about to shake it, but at the last second he pulled it toward his lips. I quickly yanked my hand away in disgust. Jake just snickered at me, annoyed, and moved on to greet Erin, who had stepped beside me.

"And who might you be?" he asked in his charming voice.

Erin blushed. "Erin Kendle." I was surprised she said no more. She was usually on top of the whole social chatter thing.

Jake took her hand and kissed it, not at all unnerved by my rejection earlier.

"Jake Veneer, very pleased to meet you."

I nearly gagged in disgust. Erin's blush became more prominent.

Jake let go of Erin's hand and bowed toward Erin and the lady. "Well, ladies," he turned to me and seemed to take a second to think of a word to call me. "And Anita, I will be seeing you."

He smiled at Erin, scowled at me, and disappeared down the hall we had just entered from.

Erin and I were left with the lady, who I assumed must be the gym leader. She had long brown hair that flowed freely to her waist and forest green eyes. A circle of daffodils lay atop her head like a crown. The ring of flowers would have looked childish on anyone else, but they made her appear queen-like. She wore a simple light green dress that matched the surroundings as well as her eyes.

She smiled warmly at me. "Hello, Anita. I am Abalina Sycamore, the gym leader of Azul City. I have been expecting you."

She held out her hand and I shook it, though her saying I was expected unnerved me.

Abalina turned to Erin. "And you must be a friend of Anita's, correct?"

Erin nodded.

Abalina shook her hand and then turned back to me. "Well, now down to business. But first, Anita, do you trust Erin?"

I immediately shook my head. Erin looked taken aback, but come on. Could she really expect me to trust her after knowing her for only two days?

"Well, that is a bit of an issue," Abalina stated. Then she shrugged. "But it's not my issue. So Anita, I hope Erin here does turn out to be trustworthy, otherwise your life could quickly turn miserable after this."

I was puzzled. {Apple, any input?}

{Nope. No idea what she's talking about. I could read her thoughts, but I don't like intruding if I don't sense ill intent.}

{Whatever. I'm sure she'll tell us soon enough.}

"First of all, welcome to the Azul City gym. As the first gym leader you will battle, it is my duty to explain most of the gym and league policies in Acceber.

"The Pokemon league is held annually every January in Orquid City. To participate, five out of eight Acceber badges must be obtained in the year before the tournament, and badges from previous years are not accepted. Obtaining all eight badges will let you skip out of the prelims in the Pokemon league.  
Each gym has its own set of rules and prelims. The gym leader will only give out badges to those he or she feels is worthy, and this usually involves beating the gym leader in a battle.

"I am sure you knew all of this, but I am required to tell you anyway. Now, however, we get to the part that you probably don't know." Abalina hesitated a moment and glanced at Erin. "Anita, I know you are gifted."

My eyes widened in surprise, but I said nothing.

{Ahh, this is what she was talking about.} Apple giggled, though I did not see what was funny about the situation.

"Did you already know this?" she asked.

I nodded.

Abalina continued, "You're power type is psychic and your strength is still unknown, though it is growing. I know all of this because all eight gym leaders of Acceber are gifted as well, and one of the eight is a psychic. She is often able to foresee events, especially those pertaining to others with the gift, and she predicted your arrival here."

Erin was utterly confused. She started to ask, "What do you mean by gifts?" However, Abalina stopped her.

"Anita can explain this to you later. Anyway, Anita, you need to know this because it is the gym leaders' duty to train gifted children and make sure they learn to control their powers. We do not actually teach you; you'll have to learn from a psychic Pokemon or someone with the psychic gift. However, we will challenge your powers as well as your Pokemon. Because you have the advantage of the gift, your prelims and battles may be different and more challenging than other trainers'.

"This gym will be the exception. Because you just found out about this today, I will not test you beyond the normal battle between gym leader and trainer. Other gym leaders, however, may test you by having you battle alongside your Pokemon or perform some other difficult task.

"Basically, along with training your Pokemon, you have to train your own powers. The gym leaders decided to implement these regulations to prevent accidents caused by teenagers unable to control their powers as well as end the great advantage gifted children tended to have in being able to gain gym badges."

{Apple, did you know about this?} I asked, still trying to comprehend all Abalina had told me.

Apple shrugged. {Not really, but I probably could have guessed. It makes sense.}

Erin looked like she was thinking hard. I was curious about what and was about to read her thoughts when Abalina slapped something onto my arm.

"During our battle you have to wear this," she commanded.

I stared at the black band on my wrist. It was made of a material I had never felt before, and it felt a strangely out of place on my hand.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's called a dark band. It's made of the same chemical substance dark Pokemon have throughout their body. By touching it, you will not be able to use your psychic power."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste at the band, and tried to talk to Apple. I found, however, that I could not touch her mind like I usually could.

{Don't worry,} Apple said.

{Wait, how am I talking to you?} I asked.

{She only stopped your psychic powers from working, silly. I can still reach my mind out to talk and listen to you, though it is a bit harder with that band on your arm. It actually feels like I'm trying to talk to a dark type Pokemon. I can only hear the thoughts you want me to hear.}

{Wait, I thought you told me that psychics couldn't get into dark Pokemons' minds.}

{I did, but—}

Abalina started talking to me again, obviously unaware that Apple was communicating with me. "So, are you ready?"

{We'll talk about this later,} I told Apple. {For now, we must pretend we cannot communicate without me actually speaking. Got it?}

Apple nodded.

"I'm ready," I said confidently.

"Then come over here." Abalina lead me to the open field I had first seen her and Jake on. She then backed away from me and declared, "This will be a two-on-two single battle. You may use one Pokemon at a time, and no Pokemon can be switched out of battle. Are you ready to begin?"

"Wait, how do I know you will not use your powers?" I asked suspiciously.

Abalina chuckled. "I would say my powers are much more visible than yours." She tilted her head to the left and then nodded toward something. I followed her gaze, and to my surprise saw a tree sprouting and growing before my eyes. Erin gasped. Abalina continued, "Also, I'm gym leader here so I make the rules. I don't have any physical item that will stop my powers with me right now so you will just have to trust that I will not use my power. If Erin here witnesses otherwise, I will declare the battle invalid."

Erin looked too bewildered to understand anything she witnessed, in my opinion, but I didn't object.

"What would stop your powers?" I asked curiously. "What do you use to stop the gifts of other gifted challengers from working?"

Abalina chuckled again. "Well, aren't you a curious one. For now, it is none of your business; we have a battle, remember?"

I felt my face get hot with embarrassment. "Oh, yeah," I mumbled.

Abalina pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it in the air. "Sunkern, I choose you."

"Apple, you're up."

Apple jumped onto the field, whining, {Why do I have to go first?}

I grinned. {I want to start off strong.}

That made Apple shut up. I knew her doubts lingered from yesterday.

{Now no more psychic talk,} I insisted. "Apple, quick attack!"

"Sunkern, growth!"

Apple struck the Sunkern hard, and the kernel Pokemon took damage, but then grew bigger.

"Bite it, Apple!"

Apple bit down on the Sunkern, but it kept growing until it was too big for Apple to clamp her teeth onto.

Now a giant Sunkern loomed over Apple.

I gulped, and thought that Apple was probably doing the same.

"Ingrain," Abalina commanded calmly.

The giant Sunkern suddenly sprouted roots and dug into the ground. Apple performed a rapid set of quick attacks, but they did little harm to the Sunkern.

"Absorb!"

Apple suddenly fell to the ground, as the Sunkern sucked its life.

"Apple, we've got to finish this ASAP! The longer the battle drags on, the stronger that Sunkern gets!"

Apple nodded in agreement and tried to tackle it, but the Sunkern once again was not damaged very much. It was constantly recovering through its roots and the energy it was absorbing from Apple.

I was pretty desperate by this point. Even though I knew Apple had not practiced enough, I ordered an Iron tail.

Apple's tail flickered and she swung it at the Sunkern, but she ended up hurting herself more than her opponent.

"Apple, come on! You can do this! Try again, and aim for the roots!"

More energy was stolen from Apple, but the Eevee looked at the giant Sunkern fiercely. Her tail suddenly glowed bright, and she spun around, cutting off all of the Sunkern's roots.

"Now finish it!"

Apple kept her tail lit up and flipped through the air, landing squarely on the giant Sunkern.

{Oh, yeah!} Apple squealed and did a celebration dance atop her opponent.

The Sunkern was knocked out.

The oversized Pokemon was returned, and in its place a Leafeon appeared. Abalina looked irked.

"Razor leaf!"

Leaves flew at Apple from all directions. The Eevee tried to dodge with a quick attack, but most of the leaves hit anyway.

Apple fell down in exhaustion.

"You got this, Apple!" I cheered.

Apple tried to get up but was knocked back by the Leafeon. This time, Apple did not get back up. I ran onto the field and scooped the Eevee into my arms. She was completely knocked out, but was otherwise fine. I patted her on the head, handed her to Erin, and then returned to my battle post.

I ordered Fiery onto the field.

The Leafeon once again spun razor-sharp leaves at my Pokemon. Fiery, however, was not worn from battle, and thus was able to dodge out of the way. I smirked at Abalina. "You won't beat me the same way twice!" I called.

Abalina was unfazed. She smiled slightly at me. "Or maybe I will."

Her Leafeon hurled leaves, and Fiery dodged once again. This time though the leaves turned around and boomeranged right back at Fiery.

Abalina grinned at me. "Magical leaf never misses."

"Iron tail!" I ordered.

Fiery used his iron-hard tail to slice the leaves chasing him to bits. He continued past the leaves and launched toward Leafeon.

"Quick, leaf blade!"

There was a loud clang as Fiery's tail met Leafeon's. Leafeon twisted away and tried again. Again, their tails met with a clang.

Both Pokemon continued to strike with their tails. It was like watching a sword fight. Leafeon's weapon was quicker and sharper than Fiery's, but Fiery's was thicker and stronger. With a tacit vow not to order any other attacks, Abalina and I watched the two Pokemon twirl and lunge.

As the battle prolonged, I began to notice signs of endurance failures on both Pokemon. Their tails moved slower and their blows were less powerful. This seemed to hinder Leafeon more than Fiery, as the Leafeon's main advantage of speed was taken away.

The test of endurance continued until finally, Leafeon faltered under Fiery's strike. The Pokemon fell backwards, and Fiery struck again with his powerful tail. The Leafeon was too tired to block and too slow to dodge.

Fiery was the only Pokemon left standing on the battlefield.

Holy crud.

We won.

Fiery's fur was dirty and sticking up in places from the battle, but I didn't care as my bursting pride caused me to cuddle Fiery in a tight hug.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my hand, causing me to release Fiery. I squealed, "Oww!"

Fiery had bitten me.

I suppose hugging him was not the smartest idea.

I looked down at the ragged Pokemon, and he was grinning.

Erin hugged me and did a little dance. Even Apple, who had woken up toward the end of the battle but was still exhausted, smiled weakly.

Abalina gave me a gracious smile, though her eyes revealed a tad of annoyance. She took off the dark band (thank goodness) and handed me a badge.

"It's been a long time since I have given out more than one badge in a day," she commented. "But congratulations. You now have the Maple Badge."

"Did Jake get the other badge?" I asked curiously.

Abalina nodded and then sighed. "At least I beat one person today… I think I will train more before I hold another tournament."

I stared at the badge in my hand. It was shaped like a red, spiky maple leaf.

Wow, my first badge.

Fiery eyed my hand slyly.

Suddenly, my badge was swiped out of my hand.

Fiery held it proudly between his teeth.

He closed his mouth, smirking.

And swallowed.

Aww, so much for my first badge.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

{No more eating badges.} I scolded Fiery several hours later.

Nurse Joy had healed my Pokemon and assured me that my badge would … come out Fiery's other end without any harm to Fiery. She had been correct. I now was washing and rewashing the badge as Fiery and Apple watched.

Apple giggled. She had been in a significantly better mood since she beat the Sunkern.

Fiery scowled. {If you saw the look on Anita's face, you would have done the same. She was completely engrossed with the thing!}

Apple thought for a moment. {You know, I think you're right.}

I rolled my eyes.

When I was finally satisfied with the badge's cleanliness, I left the bathroom and sat down on my bed. The moon's light glittered across my bed and barely reached Erin's. Erin was reading a magazine with a reading light under her covers. She had been abnormally quiet the whole afternoon. I was surprised but glad she was not bugging me as I thought she would about the psychic thing. Of course, she could just be waiting for an opportune moment…

Just then Erin began speaking. "Anita, about you being psychic?" She looked at me expectantly.

Oh, the irony.

"Good night, Erin." I completely ignored her question and lay down. Apple jumped beside me.

{I'd rather sleep in my Pokeball,} Fiery said. He trotted over to my bag, found his Pokeball, and pressed the center button. He was gone in a flash of red.

"Hello! Are you going to explain?"

I rolled over to face the window. "Nope."

"Anita!" Erin started to whine.

"GOODNIGHT!"

All was quiet.

I fell asleep to Apple silently chanting, {Anger management, anger management.}


	10. Reminiscence

Chapter 8: Reminiscence

The sea suited me.

I watched the dark waves crash against the beach.

The gloomy water reminded me of another time.

A time before Team Glop'emm and Masters.

A time that I lived on the other shore.

_A toddler clutched his father's hand as they made their way through the crowd. The boy was amazed by the plentiful colors that surrounded him. It seemed that everywhere he looked merchants were showing off Pokemon dolls, balloons, mats, and a wide variety of furniture._

_A woman accosted the father. "May I show you this table, sir? It—"_

_The father ignored the woman and kept walking. He kept scanning the crowd, as if he were looking for someone._

_"Daddy, when can we go to the beach?" the boy whined._

_"We need to go find Mommy and Auntie to tell them where we are going while they shop," the father replied. He wished his wife had left her PokeTech on._

_The father finally spotted the women he was looking for just beyond the market place fence, stepping into a store._

_Despite the mass of people around them and the bright overhead sun, the air chilled the boy. He moved closer to his father as they escaped the lively market place and followed the women inside the store._

_The store was named "The Submerged Swamp" and had obviously at one time been someone's house. Upon entering, the boy was astounded by the vast number of pretty trinkets lying in every nook of the room._

_"Don't touch anything because you might break it," the father warned. He held onto his son's hand and carefully made his way around the random ornaments to where he could see his wife was standing; she was talking with his sister-in-law and the apparent owner of the store._

_As the father moved toward his wife, a small T.V. caught his eye. It was a noticeably new television, and it seemed out of place in this cluttered store. _

_On the T.V., a news woman stood in front of an image of Hoenn._

_"A drastic change in weather has occurred in the past hour in several Hoenn regions," the women announced. She gestured to the map behind her. "Sootopolis City seems to be experiencing the worst of this disturbing weather, and all Sootopolis citizens are advised to evacuate the city. Lilycove City and Dewford Town are also experiencing mild flooding. The cause of these storms has not yet been identified, although—"_

_"Hello, there." The father was distracted from the television by a woman hugging his waist. "I didn't expect to see you here. You said you were going to spend the day at home relaxing and catching up on some well-earned sleep."_

_The man raised his eyebrows at his wife and chuckled. "That was the plan, but I was convinced otherwise by a devious child." He nodded toward the boy, who despite his father's warning was reaching to touch a glass knick-knack._

_"So, what's the plan now?" the wife pulled away from her husband to pick up their four-year-old son._

_"We're heading out to the beach. It's a nice day; a bit of a chill, but not a cloud in the sky here." The man then added hesitantly, "Though that doesn't seem to be the case in other parts of Hoenn. Did you see the news?"_

_The wife nodded. "It is horrible," she agreed._

_The sister-in-law approached the couple. "Sue, what do you think of this vase for my kitchen?" she asked the wife, holding a neon green vase up in one hand and another young boy with the other._

_"It's too brightly colored to fit in. Do they have it in any darker shades?" Sue, the wife, answered._

_"I'll go check with the owner," the sister-in-law replied._

_The dark haired boy she was clinging to complained, "Why can't I just go home?" but she ignored the plea and dragged the boy with her._

_"Maria brought her boy?" the father questioned in a surprised tone._

_Sue laughed. "Yeah. Apparently, Don is at a Corporate event right now in Rustburo, and she didn't want to bother you with another kid to watch. I told her she was being ridiculous, but you know how stubborn she gets." _

_"I can't believe my own brother didn't tell me he was going out of town! We could have helped Maria out… Well, now that I'm here, why don't I just take both kids to the beach?" the father suggested. "You two will be able to finish your shopping faster, and there will be no opportunity for our rambunctious nephew to break something."_

_"Great! Now you just need to convince Maria—" _

_CRASH_

_Sue and her husband could hear a stream of apologies spout from Maria's mouth. "Oh, I am so sorry. Here, let me get that. Really, sorry. I'll pay for it, of course. Wait here for a second, and then I'll help clean up this glass."_

_Maria came from around the corner, now holding her son. She looked at her brother-in-law with pleading eyes._

_Before she could say anything, the man held out his hands for her son and said, "I'm taking the boys to the beach."_

_Maria smiled gratefully, handed over her son, and rushed back to help the store owner to clean up the broken glass._

_Sue kissed her husband on the cheek and placed their son in his free arm. She patted the two boys on the head. "You two be safe. What do you do if a stranger offers you candy?"_

_"Run away screaming," the two cousins replied in unison._

_The mother smiled and began walking toward the back of the store where Maria was cleaning up glass. "We'll meet you boys on the beach once we're done here," she called over her shoulder._

_The husband watched his wife round the corner. He heard the store manager say, "Seriously, don't worry about it. Let me show you the vases we have in the basement…"_

_The man walked out of the store holding his son and nephew. The two boys were giggling madly as they played peek-a-boo, their green eyes shining with excitement._

_A few blocks away from the beach, the father put the boys on the ground, mumbling, "You two are getting too heavy to carry anymore."_

_The boys sprinted ahead to the sand while the man sighed and jogged after them._

_By the time the man reached the beach, the two boys were already splashing happily in the calm water._

_The man sat down on a beach chair under an umbrella and pulled out a book. There was nobody else on the beach, but this was to be expected when there were big market sales. Plus, though it was sunny, the air was cool. It was definitely not beach weather, but the boys didn't seem to care._

_The man read for a bit and then gazed over his book at the two boys. From his seat it was hard to tell which boy was which. He smiled. When strangers saw the boys together, they often thought the two were twins. Both had unkempt hair, green eyes, and differed in age by only six months._

_He watched the boys play until he finally dosed off._

_"Let's go searching for shells!" one of the boys suggested excitedly._

_"Yeah! Oh, but not too far or Daddy will get upset," the other boy said._

_"No he won't. He's asleep, silly!" The dark-haired boy started skipping down the shore._

_"Wait for me!" The other boy ran after his cousin._

_Several minutes later, the man awoke with a start. Something wasn't right. The sun was still shining brightly, but the air was too still. The man looked around for his son and his nephew, but neither was in sight._

_The man rose in a hurry and quickly flipped his head side to side, looking down the shore. He noticed clouds were approaching rapidly._

_There was also something weird about the ocean. The man squinted into the distant horizon. It looked like the horizon was getting taller for some reason…_

_The man froze in fright. His eyes widened._

_He turned and frantically ran down the shore, calling "Landon Mendol! Liam Mendol! Get back here this instant!"_

_No reply._

_"Liam! Landon! Where are you?"_

_Nothing._

_The man saw the ocean grow even more out of the corner of his eye. Did the rest of Slateport City know? Should he go warn everyone? No, the boys were more important. "LANDON! LIAM!" he cried._

_He spotted something a couple hundred meters away. Was it his son?_

_He pumped his legs faster than he ever had in his life. The mountain made of ocean rushed toward shore._

_He could now make up the object he had spotted. It was his son. The boy stood staring at the ocean._

_The man finally reached his son and pulled him into his arms._

_"My son," he murmured, kissing the boy's head. Then he asked, "Where is your cousin?"_

_The boy shrugged. "He wanted to keep looking for shells, but I wanted to come back. So I turned around."_

_The man looked down the shore. He couldn't see the other boy; not a glimpse of his nephew's dark hair against the pale beach. The man turned to the ocean._

_"Daddy, what's that?" The boy pointed to the ever-rising ocean. The giant wave was much too close._

_The man estimated it would hit in less than two minutes. Not enough time to warn the city._

_Now he had to make a decision._

_His nephew or his son._

_He knew what his decision would be in the end. He could not risk his son's life._

_He could only hope that his nephew would get lucky._

_"I'm sorry," the man murmured. He pulled out a Pokeball and released a Sharpedo._

_Holding tightly to his beloved son, the man clambered onto the shark Pokemon._

_"Alright, Sheedo, ride into that wave."_

_As the man departed from the beach, he imagined his dark haired nephew watching from a ways down shore. Guilt churned his stomach. He ignored the feeling._

_A dark shadow passed over the beach as the man and the boy rode toward the City's doom._

The sea suited me.

It reminded me of the day the Tsunami hit Slateport City.

The day of the battle between Kyogre and Groudon.

The day my cousin disappeared.

The day my father saved me.

The day my mother drowned.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"So, you're a psychic?" I repeated for about the thousandth time.

What a surprise; no reply.

Anita and I had been walking the entire morning and half the afternoon, and she had still not said a single word to me.

Unbelievable!

We were traveling southwest toward Tinted Town, which was a bit out of the way for me, but there was a gym leader there for Anita to battle.

At this point I was considering abandoning her. If she was going to ignore me the rest of our travel time together, then I was going to be bored out of my mind! Ugh.

I wished we could bicycle through these parts to make the time go faster. Unfortunately, there were too many trees and wild Pokemon. We could ride Griffy, but he would get tired if he had to carry the two of us for more than a few miles.

So we were stuck walking, and I was stuck being ignored.

Her two strongest Eevees did not appear to mind the silence. They trotted beside us and attacked wild Pokemon that crossed our path to gain battling experience. Strangely, Anita had not commanded them once. Maybe that had to do with the whole psychic thing….

I really wish she would explain it to me.

Huh, when I consider the questions I've been asking all morning, they all had to do with her being a psychic or whatever the heck she is. Maybe if I asked something that has nothing to do with that whole business, she'd answer, as any procrastinator would to keep me from asking worse questions.

"Why don't you keep your Pokemon in Pokeballs?" I asked, actually curious.

Anita didn't answer for a whole minute. I was about to return to my pouty plotting when she answered, "They don't like their Pokeballs. I only keep the other Eevees in their Pokeballs because they are too young to be left unsupervised and I can't have them wandering off."

One of her Eevees, the one with ragged hair, growled at her.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," I told the girl, thinking of my own Pokemon. They never minded their Pokeballs. Well, it didn't seem like it, as far as I could tell. Then again I wasn't a psychic…

Ooh, I had a great question for her.

"How do you know they don't like their Pokeballs?" I asked. Hehe. She was caught in a trap now.

Anita seemed to know this too. She whipped her head forward and went back to pretending I didn't exist.

"It's not because you're a psychic, huh?" I taunted.

I was ignored again, but mostly because the ragged Eevee (ugh, why couldn't I remember his name?) had Anita's attention.

For some reason, the Eevee seemed upset with Anita. They were having an intense staring contest… I think. I'm not really sure what Anita is doing half the time; she's very strange.

Suddenly, the Eevee pounced at her. I was too shocked to react and Anita fell backward.

The ragged Eevee disappeared in a flash of light.

I glanced at her hands, expecting to see the Eevee's Pokeball. However, there was none.

Was this another one of those psychic tricks?

Then I spotted her Pokeballs hanging from her belt. She couldn't have had time to snatch and put back that Pokeball so quickly…

I remembered the ragged Eevee letting itself into the Pokeball before bed yesterday. Everything fell into place.

I started cracking up.

"You were just tackled by your Eevee because you wouldn't let him back into his Pokeball," I choked through my laughter. "Talk about irony."

Anita glared at me, her face bight red.

I grinned widely- mostly because Anita's face might as well have been an announcement that she really could communicate with her Pokemon psychically.

I'm sure the last thing Anita wanted right now was me to start rambling. So I did just that.

"You know, Pokeballs are specifically created to feel spacious and comfortable on the inside. Plus, Pokeballs exist for a good reason. Wanna know why? So, a couple thousand years ago someone decided it would be a good idea to get protection. You know, from opponent families, tribes, clans, or whatever other dangers there were back then. Anyway, some person recruited Pokemon to do their protection, and soon everyone was feeding, providing shelter for, and befriending these creatures in order to gain their security. It was a mutual agreement between Pokemon and human: food and shelter for protection. Eventually, the world became a safer place with no rival tribes straining for survival - Pokemon became more of a sport than a need. Then shrinking technology was invented. Before that, there was usually only one or two Pokemon for one person because it was hard to keep track of more than that, but with the invention of the Pokeball, a person could carry many Pokemon at one time. So many, in fact, that a rule had to be made limiting a person to carrying 6 Pokeballs—"

"SHUT UP!" Anita yelled. Ah, just the reaction I loved and expected. Now that Anita was sufficiently annoyed, phase one of my evil plan was complete.

"So, wanna tell me about your psychic powers?"

"NO!"

"Well, then I'll just have to continue talking—"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT IT!" Ooh, she was really getting mad now. Her face was practically purple.

I smiled playfully and retorted in a sugary voice, "Only if you tell me about your gift."

Anita snorted. "Yeah, my gift of attracting annoying…people." Her eyes flickered to her Eevee, Apple.

A wild Nidoran popped out of the rustling grass. Anita watched Apple defeat the Pokemon in silence.

"So..?" I led.

Anita sighed and muttered, "If it will get me some peace and quiet… fine."

I cheered but held my tongue.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, what's 'The Gift'?"

"It's basically where a person has some sort of Pokemon power."

I nodded. That would explain Abalina…

"So you have the powers of a psychic Pokemon?"

"Yes," Anita confirmed.

"What can you do? I know you can read minds, but can you go deeper, like memories?"

The brown haired girl shrugged. "I can mostly just listen to thoughts."

"And that includes Pokemon?"

"Yup." Well, that clarified a lot.

I tried to act like I was having a normal conversation on a normal topic. "So, how'd you learn to do that stuff?"

"Apple taught me," Anita said seemingly automatically. Her hand suddenly flew over her mouth as if she had said something dangerous.

"I thought Apple was a normal type Pokemon. How could she teach a psychic?"

"Um… Apple used to have a friend Natu who was being taught by a Xatu," Anita said sheepishly. "She ended up learning all of the techniques as her friend learned them, even though she couldn't actually perform them."

Anita blushed and wouldn't meet my eyes. Was this something I wasn't supposed to know? Or maybe she was lying… though there was no apparent reason for that.

"Well, maybe Griffy could teach you a thing or two," I said casually, as if this psychic thing did not bother me a bit. In fact, though I was slightly unnerved by the situation, I was mostly curious. I wanted to know the extent of her powers, exactly how she used them and what she could do…

_Get ahold of yourself. You are a Pokemon researcher, not a human scientist,_ I reminded myself.

Another part of me argued, _Well, she has Pokemon abilities…_

Anita rolled her violet eyes at me… or maybe my thoughts.

I'd have to see if there was a way to keep Anita out of my head. The idea of her reading my every thought was rather uncomfortable. My head was supposed to be private!

Anita's attention suddenly turned to Apple, who was trotting beside us.

I grinned. Even if she did have psychic powers, she was awful at hiding who she was communicating with psychically. This sure was going to be an interesting journey.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

{Come on, Anita! Now is the perfect time!} Apple whined.

{I don't want Erin investigating me any more! She's too perceptive! She is already suspicious of you!} I replied.

Apple scoffed, {Well, that's your own fault, you blabber mouth. A friend Natu? C'mon.}

{Well, if Fiery hadn't decided he wanted to go back in his Pokeball just to prove me wrong, she would have never figured out I could use telepathy!}

{Yeah, because Abalina didn't already give that away,} Apple said sarcastically.

{She didn't say any specifics!}

{Whatever, you know Erin would have figured it out eventually. You suck at lying, and your body language always gives away who you are using telepathy with.}

{That's not true!}

{Then why is Erin already suspicious?}

Apple had me there. {Fine,} I muttered.

{Hey!} Apple narrowed her eyes at me. {You've been distracting me!}

{From what?} I asked innocently… not.

{From my original suggestion. You should practice your psychic abilities now.}

{No!}

{Why not?}

{I already told you. Erin is suspicious!}

{Suspicious! She KNOWS you are a psychic!}

{Not of that, of you. She already suspects something is up with you.}

{Which is why I recommended you ask Erin if you could use Griffy to practice right now.}

{I can practice without Griffy's help!}

{Yeah, you could. But if you want to learn something new, you should ask for Griffy's help.}

{I don't want to learn anything new,} I explained.

{Didn't you hear Abalina? You can't go into these gym leaders unprepared or you'll get your *ss handed to you! You have to learn to use all of your powers if you want to gain gym badges!}

Why is it that everyone but me seemed interested in my powers? Sure, they were kind of cool, but they seemed to be causing more trouble than they were worth.

Apple suddenly smiled widely with her miniature fangs.

{What?}

{If you had been listening to Erin's thoughts, you would already know.}

I hadn't been listening to Erin's thoughts because I wanted to respect her privacy… somewhat. Mostly, I just didn't care what she was thinking.

Now that I was paying attention to her thoughts, I could feel her dying curiosity about what Apple and I were discussing.

"What are you two talking about?" Erin suddenly blurted out.

"Nothing."

Apple started growling at me, and then looked directly at Erin with wide eyes.

"Why won't you—" Erin glared at me, and started again, "You know what—" The girl pulled out a Pokeball and pressed the release button. "Griffy, can you tell me what that Apple and Anita are discussing telepathically?"

Griffy was confused for a moment, but then Erin showed him what she already knew about my psychic abilities. {Why certainly, Erin.}

I heard his tail say, {We can use this situation to our advantage if we build a giant vacuum to suck up all of the mind energy in the world. Wahahahaha!}

Yeah, that tail had serious issues.

{Will you ask Erin to allow you to teach Anita some psychic stuff right now while we are walking?} Apple asked Griffy.

I groaned as Griffy relayed the message to Erin.

"Sure! I think that's a great idea!"

"I don't," I mumbled.

{Well, then. Anita, you're outvoted so it's lesson time!}

{Since when are we taking votes?}

{Since I decided you should have a lesson now.}

{But you didn't even vote!}

{All in favor, raise your hand, paw, or hoof,} Apple said and Griffy relayed to Erin.

Erin's hand shot up, as did Apple's paw. Griffy shrugged and raised a hoof saying, {I'll vote as my trainer does.}

Griffy's tail rose. {If you turn into a pineapple, we win.}

Apple and I stared.

I finally shrugged. {Bleh. You guys stink.}

{I beg your pardon, strange Eevee, but what shall I teach your trainer?} Griffy politely inquired.

{Well, we just worked on telepathy, and I was thinking of starting telekinesis next. How about you teach her the basics?}

{Very well.}

Erin squealed with excitement when Griffy told her what the lesson plan for today was.

{Miss Anita, are you ready to begin?}

If I didn't give in, I would never hear the end of it. {Fine,} I answered sourly.

{Psychic powers are based on the ability to project your mind elsewhere. The weakest form of projecting your mind is telepathy. The next level of mind projection is creating barriers.}

{Like Reflect and Light Screen?} I asked.

{That's correct, Miss. Like telepathy, the greater the distance you try to create a barrier from, the harder it becomes. This is why many Pokemon simply make a barrier directly in front of them during a battle, rather than when their opponent is halfway across the field. Very few Pokemon can do more than that, though there are a few exceptions, such as Mr. Mime.}

I nodded.

{Creating a barrier is very similar to projecting your mind into another's. You pour a small bit of your mind out of your body with such force that it freezes the air. Listen to my mind as I use Reflect.}

I tried to enter Griffy's mind, but I found it harder to enter this foreign mind than Apple's. It was also hard to concentrate on Griffy while walking. Eventually, Griffy had me ride on his back, but even then it was several minutes before I was deeper than the emotion level.

Erin watched us the whole time with a look of fascination. At one point, I thought I even saw her take out her notebook to scribble something down.

When I was finally in Griffy's mind, he illustrated Reflect. First he stretched a strand of his mind forward toward Apple and said {Moving your mind slowly like this is telepathy.} He retracted his mind, and then shot several strands forward in front of Apple very quickly. Apple walked into the solid barrier and fell down.

This sent me into a fit of laughter, and I was unable to maintain a connection with Griffy.

{Hey!} Apple exclaimed. {That was uncalled for!}

{Your blue frog-squashing watermelon is uncalled for!} Griffy's tail yelled back.

I sat up on Griffy's back and rubbed my head, slightly dazed.

{Ready to try, Miss?}

I definitely didn't feel ready, but it wasn't like I ever would. I tried to focus my mind on the air in front of Apple.

{Why me?} Apple complained.

I ignored her and continued concentrating.

Nothing happened.

"Um, what's going on?" Erin asked, probably hoping for some interesting data she could analyze.

I tried again.

And again.

And again.

Nothing.

No matter how hard I concentrated, nothing happened.

{She needs to really want it,} Apple finally said. {She needs to want it to the point of needing it; otherwise her mind will not gain enough force.}

I sighed. If that was the case, I would never get it because I really didn't want it. It was everyone else who was forcing this upon me. Even though I knew I would need my powers against gym leaders, I couldn't get myself to care enough.

I certainly wanted to beat the gym leaders, but psychic powers still did not appeal to me. The actual abilities were pretty cool and useful, I suppose, but they were not worth the complications they had caused. I didn't want to be gawked at, to be treated like an outcast. I had had enough of that in school…

After half an hour of trying, I gave up. {I'm just not ready for this,} I told Apple and Griffy.

Erin sighed sadly and returned Griffy to his Pokeball.

I enjoyed the half a minute we walked in silence, and then Erin started talking again.

"So, what is your favorite kind of ice cream?" she asked.

"Why are you asking me?"

"I needed an ice breaker."

"Because there is _so_ much tension here," I retorted sarcastically.

Awkward silence.

"Touché," I muttered.

"Well, can you think of a better one?"

I shrugged.

"C'mon, I need multi-word answers here. How about, how has your life been thus far?"

I reflected a moment. "Pretty sucky."

"And why so?" I thought it was rude of her to be so nosy.

"Huh, let's see," I retorted scathingly. "My father left my mom and me when I was six, my mom hates Pokemon, I was picked on at school, my two best friends left on their Pokemon journey a whole year before I did…

"I'm sorry," Erin replied simply. She apparently hadn't recognized the "leave me alone or else" tone because she then asked, "Wanna expand on any of that?"

"No," I replied curtly.

"Okay then. How about boyfriends?"

I rolled my eyes at her. Was there an end to her shallowness?

{Technically, yes, assuming she is a shallow person,} Apple added to my thoughts.

{Butt out,} I grumbled to Apple. Then to answer Erin, I said, "Kinda."

"What kinda answer is that? I want specifics!"

I sighed in exasperation. I turned my head toward the sky for a moment, and noticed some clouds rolling in from overseas. Great, more rain was just what I needed. I decided that answering Erin might appease her so I finally started talking about my one almost boyfriend…

"He invited me to the school dance, and brought me—

_"A rose."_

_My best friend, Mia, giggled. "Awe, that's so cute! What are you going to do with it?"_

_Mia stuck her face over the sink to get closer to the bathroom mirror while she applied a thin layer of lip gloss to her lips._

_I shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe I'll just stick it in my purse or something…"_

_Mia gasped, "You can't do that! Give that to me!" She snatched the red rose from my hand and twirled me around to face the bathroom mirror. I felt pressure on the back of my head as she fiddled with my pulled back hair to make the rose fit. "There, that's perfect! Look, the color even matches the dress we picked out for you!"_

_I rolled my eyes. She had done all the dress-picking. I had just followed her wordlessly, praying for the shopping to end before I dropped dead of boredom. "Whatever, can we go now? Matt probably thinks we're sick we've been in here so long."_

_Mia fixed one last invisible strand of her blonde curly hair and then turned to the bathroom door. "You're so lucky! My date abandoned me as soon as he saw the chicken wings! Yours has stuck with you thus far through the night, and he even gave you a rose after your first dance together!"_

_"He has been really nice," I agreed. "I just wish we could bring our Pokemon. We always have more fun with them around."_

_Mia opened the bathroom door for me. Matt, of course, was waiting just outside. Mia winked at me, and then scurried toward a table of boys to drag her date onto the dance floor._

_The music changed to a slow song, and the DJ announced, "Alright, kids, last song of the night! Make it a good one!"_

_Matt held his hand out questioningly. I took it and we walked to the dance floor._

_Slow dancing with Matt was slightly awkward. Though I was comfortable resting my hands on his shoulders, he held my waist as far away from him as possible, as if he was overstepping some boundary._

_I was content to watch his cute round face as we stepped to the tune, but he tried to look everywhere but me. When our eyes met, we both looked away, blushing._

_Carly spotted us across the dance floor, and gracefully pulled her date, Reece, toward us. "I always knew you two losers would end up together," she snickered._

_I felt heat rise to my face._

_Reece flicked his eyes from my face down to my shoes and then back again. "Yes, you could do much better, Anita," he taunted. _

_I grabbed Matt's hand and tore away from the dance floor, too angry to speak._

_Matt and I left the dance and walked toward our homes through the cool, moon-lit night in silence. I missed Matt's normal friendly chatter._

_For years Matt and Mia had been my two best friends, but when Matt asked me to the dance, things got weird between the three of us. Mia scurried away whenever she saw Matt, and my relationship with Matt was just plain awkward._

_We finally reached my house. I didn't worry about Matt walking home alone; he lived next door. I turned to say goodnight when I suddenly felt Matt's lips on mine._

_It certainly was not what I expected… more wet than anything._

_"G'night, Anita,"_

"—were the last words I heard him say. The next day he left to go on his Pokemon journey without even saying goodbye."

Erin whistled.

I grimaced.

"So, do you still, you know, like him?"

"I'm not sure I ever liked him in the first place," I replied. Then to change the subject, I asked, "What about you? Any boyfriends?"

"A couple," Erin answered.

"What kinda answer is that?" I mocked, "I want specifics!"

Erin was silent.

I was genuinely shocked. "Are you seriously not going to talk about it?"

Erin nodded and looked away.

I tried to read her mind, but she was just thinking about grey clouds.

A raindrop hit my head. I looked up and noticed the clouds I had seen earlier were now directly over us. Lightning flashed through the sky, and was followed by crashing thunder.

{A downpour is coming,} Apple warned. {There is a small ledge just ahead we can take cover in if we hurry.}

I relayed Apple's warning (without mentioning that it was Apple's prediction) to Erin, and we ran for cover through the drizzle. We reached to ledge just as the drizzle turned into a downpour. Erin, Apple, and I sat huddled in silence, watching the rain.

After an hour of squatting under the ledge, the rain had still not ceased. I sighed when Erin said, "Well, looks like we're going to be stuck here for a bit. We should take advantage of the opportunity by continuing to get to know each other better!"

Boy, would this be a long afternoon…evening…night. I suddenly realized how long the rain could keep me here…

under a rock…

in the cold…

….with Erin.

"So, you never answered my first question: what's your favorite type of ice cream?"


	11. Peepin Pond

Chapter 9: Peepin Pond

I stared at the walkie-talkie.

A child's toy really.

And yet this mere toy would enact my brilliant plan.

I pressed the green button.

"Yes, Master?" my assistant answered.

I spoke quietly into the toy. "The detective has been dispatched. My plan has begun. Remember my warnings."

"Of course, Master."

"Nothing more. Master out." I ended the transmission and grinned.

If my calculations on Miss Parkwood's location were correct, she would soon be meeting someone quite special.

Now things would really start to get interesting.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

Ladies and gentleman, the Master has left the building.

I smiled widely. The past twenty-four hours had easily been the happiest hours of my life. By some stroke of luck, or perhaps G-d's will, it was finally my turn to shine. I was in charge of Team Glop'emm. I was in control.

And yet… there was still work to be done.

For though I was in command now, as long as the young Master lived, my position was not permanent.

Furthermore, the Master had succeeded in disappearing, and this would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate the brat if I could find a way to identify him. I had seen his luminescent eyes a thousand times, and I could probably estimate how tall he was, but that would not be enough to recognize the snotty teen if I ever saw him in broad daylight.

I fiddled with my Pokeballs, thinking.

I had searched through everything he left behind for any clue; the desk I now sat at, his private quarters, the library, and the labs. I found nothing.

All I had was the little information the boy had told me, and my own experience with the boy and his father.

But if I could kill the previous Master without getting caught, I could certainly find the man's teenage son.

_BZZZT_

I looked down at the Master's desk… no, my desk… and saw the talkie the boy had given me vibrating.

Speak of the devil.

I pressed the green button.

"Yes, Master?" I answered tiredly.

"The detective has been dispatched. My plan has begun. Remember my warnings," the boy replied coldly.

_Whoopee_, I thought sarcastically, though I responded with an "Of course, Master."

"Nothing more. Master out."

How tiresome that boy could be.

Even if the boy wasn't the Master, I would want to eliminate the child because of how he flaunted his arrogant attitude.

The boy simply had to be destroyed. I sighed as I racked my brilliant brain for vital details that could help me identify the teen.

Mendol.

That was one detail I had— the name Mendol. That was the name written on the gym door. It was the name the boy's father went by, and the name the boy was called. _Master_ Mendol. The father had become a gym leader before he joined Team Glop'emm. Thus, when the name was engraved, there would have been no reason for him to hide his identity.

The name was a possible lead. It couldn't hurt to check it out.

Then there was this detective, the man the boy had sent after Anita Parkwood. He had said the detective was a relative. The boy was probably lying, but either way, it would be useful to have someone watching the detective. Maybe this "relative" would let something slip.

Plus, I needed to make sure I was getting all the information the Master was getting about Pokemon X. If I could figure out a way to find and capture it before he did…

I smiled wickedly.

Well, then it would be a lot easier to take him down.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I ran a hand through my dark hair as I stared at the walkie-talkie. It was silent now.

I had my mission.

I was in position.

Now all I could do was wait.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

The first four times I woke up, it was still raining.

The fifth time, the sun was blazing into my eyes.

I blinked, and looked around me, confused. Erin was laying a little ways away, still fast asleep under the protection of the ledge. I was barely under the ledge, and my clothes were still damp. The air was a lot warmer than it had been before. I looked around for Apple, and finally spotted her bathing in the sunlight.

After stretching, I looked at my watch.

3:41 p.m.

That couldn't be right.

I shook my head and blinked a couple of times.

3:41 p.m.

I jumped up and ran into the sunlight. The sun was high in the sky, and there wasn't a cloud in sight.

{Apple,} I growled.

{Nya?} Apple answered groggily. Her body remained motionless, sprawled in the sunlight.

{Why didn't you wake me up when it stopped raining?}

Apple finally got up and yawned. {I thought I deserved some rest.}

{You realize if we had left as soon as it stopped raining, we could have reached Tinted Town before the sun went down. Now that we've wasted most of the day, we'll have to camp out again.}

{Na,} Apple argued, {It didn't stop raining till noon. No way would we have reached Tinted Town. We would have to camp out anyway.}

{Maybe, but now we're going to have to start setting up for camp in just two or three hours before it starts getting dark! We're not going to make any progress. The day was completely wasted!}

{Whatever.}

I walked over to Erin and shook her with a foot. "Wake up!"

Erin sat up quickly, her hair a complete mess. "Huh?" She blinked. "Whoa. How long did we sleep?"

"It's already mid-afternoon! We have to get going!"

Erin stretched. "What about breakfast?"

"Ugh. Come on!" I grabbed her arm and started exasperatedly marching through the lightly wooded area. Apple followed.

So we walked… and walked… and walked….

Did I mention we kept walking?

"Huh. There are more trees here," I noted dully after half an hour of— you guessed it— walking. We had eaten as we traveled.

Erin nodded. "It's because there is more water here. About half a mile to our left is Peepin Pond, and four miles to our right is Lemon Lake."

"And how far until we reach Tinted Town?"

"You really don't want to know. Too far."

I frowned and grumbled to myself. Then suddenly, I remembered Fiery was still in his Pokeball. "Oh!" I exclaimed as I released him. "Sorry, I forgot about you."

{Darn, I was hoping you wouldn't remember,} Apple pouted.

{Under normal circumstances, I would be offended that you forgot me. However, I already told you, I like my Pokeball!} Fiery growled.

{I think you only like it because I said Pokemon don't like being confined in them,} I replied.

{Yeah, no normal Pokemon would like being stuck in that thing!} Apple added.

{Have you ever considered the possibility that you're the abnormal one, Apple?}

{No.} Apple smirked.

Fiery chose to ignore Apple. {Anita, just because Apple does not like her Pokeball does not mean all Pokemon dislike Pokeballs. Some of us actually enjoy resting and being away from you crazies.}

{Well, you need the exercise,} I argued. I already knew I had lost; I was just being stubborn. Abruptly, I realized Fiery and Apple had stopped walking.

{What's up?}

Apple and Fiery were staring into the sky.

Erin stopped behind the Eevees. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not—" I stopped speaking as I followed the Eevees' gazes.

_SPLAT_

All was suddenly dark.

And wet.

Three different laughs came from beyond the wet darkness.

{Whew, I feel much better,} an unfamiliar voice said.

I wiped the wetness from my eyes and saw a large Fearow flapping away above me.

It occurred to me what the wet goo covering me was.

"EWWWWWWW!" I yelled.

Fiery snorted. {Now you know how I feel!}

"This is so not funny!" I gave the three giggling hyenas my fiercest glare.

It was ruined when a bit of… crap… fell from my hair to my nose.

{It wouldn't have happened if you had listened psychically or had better normal hearing,} Apple commented.

"It's supposed to be good luck when a bird poops on you," Erin remarked.

"Yeah right," I grumbled. "So far, today might qualify in the top ten worst days of my life." I unsuccessfully tried to wipe the crud from my face; it just ended up smearing.

And now my hands were covered in sh*t too. Great.

Apple joked to Fiery, {I bet it was related to the Spearow you battled.}

"Which way is Peepin Pond?" I asked. I spat as… you really don't want to know.

Erin pointed.

"I'm going to go wash up. Erin, can you take my pack if it's not already disgusting? I don't want to drip on it…"

"I'm not touching that thing if there is a single drop of crap on it," Erin answered. She inspected my pack carefully before removing it from my back. "We'll start setting up camp here. No way will we have time to keep moving by the time you're done."

{What a waste of a day,} I thought to myself…

… or not. {Maybe it just wasn't meant to be,} Apple replied.

{You stink,} Fiery put in while wrinkling his nose.

"I'll be by the pond—" I said to Erin.

{Hopefully in it,} Apple interjected, though only I could hear.

"Make sure you give these two some daunting task." I waved to the Eevees.

"Don't worry. They'll be fetching firewood!" Erin replied.

{Oooh. So daunting. I couldn't possibly handle that,} Apple snickered.

Fiery chuckled.

I left.

The walk to the pond was quiet, and I probably would have enjoyed it if it weren't for the awful stench and disgusting goop on my face.

The trees became denser as I neared the pond, and the shade sent a shiver down my back.

The first thing I did when I reached the pond was splash the pond's warm water on my face to scrub the crap off. As I squatted by the pond, I made a mental note to buy soap when I reached Tinted Town.

When my face was wiped off and I could finally see clearly, my reflection in the pond revealed that I was covered in even more poo than I had imagined.

And I have a big imagination.

Not only was my hair streaked with brown and white, but so was the top of my long-sleeve t-shirt. Even my pants had some crap on them; I must have accidently put my hands on them when I squatted down.

I glanced to my left and right to make sure the pond was abandoned.

Seeing no other signs of life, I sighed and carefully stripped off my pants, shirt, and shoes.

While leaning over the pond, I dipped the shirt in the water and began scrubbing it with my hands.

A soft cool breeze sent a chill down my spine.

"That's a nice look for you."

I fell into the water, surprised by the voice.

The pond was shallow. I swerved around and squatted so only my head was above the water, while I clutched my shirt tightly to my chest.

My heartbeat quickened when I saw the speaker.

"Reece," I hissed.

"Ah, Anita, it's been a while," Reece said casually, leaning against a tree.

{Apple? Fiery? Erin? Anyone!} I called out psychically.

I held my breath hopefully.

No answer. I was out of range.

Reece strolled toward the pond smirking nastily. I backed into the pond's reeds nervously, my feet getting tangled in the roots.

Reece stopped by my pants. He nonchalantly bent down and picked them up, seemingly inspecting them.

"Back off my pants you pervert!" I called.

Reece's amber eyes met mine. "Anita, I thought you were going to be a Pokemon trainer."

"I am! Back off!"

Reece smiled and put the pants down. "So where are your Pokeballs?"

"Nearby," I answered hastily, fear accelerating through my veins.

"Is that so?"

{APPLE!} I strained.

Still no answer.

Holy crap, I was alone.

The creeper took a step closer to the pond.

"Stay back, or I'll…" my mind came up blank.

"Or you'll what?" Reece spoke softly. "Scream? No one will hear."

He lifted his foot slightly.

I was frozen with fright. Reece chuckled and started to take another step.

That perv had to stay the hell away from me! I automatically thrust my mind at the hated boy.

"Ow! What the—" Reece looked around blankly for the source of his pain. He tried to step forward again…

And hit an invisible wall. Again.

"Huh? What—"

"I said, back off Reece!" I hollered fiercely. I sent another psychic pulse to my barrier. Reece was repelled backwards.

Now, Reece's eyes were widened with fear. "Anita—" he started.

"AWAY!"

He flew back again. The pervert carefully treaded backwards while watching me. Then he turned and fled through the thin layer of trees.

I sank back in the reeds as relief flooded through me, still clutching the poop-stained shirt to my chest. Slowly, my fear trickled away into the pond. For fifteen minutes, I watched from the reeds to make sure the boy didn't come back. I sent my mind out to make sure there was truly nobody there.

When I finally felt it was safe, I began lifting myself from the water plants. I scanned the shore just to double check…

There was someone by the edge of the pond! I quickly ducked back into the reeds.

How hadn't I sensed this person?

I sent my mind out again, but found nothing.

I peeked through the reeds.

A dark haired young man was crouched by the pond. The setting sun made it difficult to make out any exact details, but I could see he was scooping up the pond's clear water and drinking it.

How long had he been there?

Suddenly, the young man looked straight at me. The fact that I could see his eyes shocked me. They were green and luminescent, shining like the moon.

"I can see you in there," the kid said quietly, his voice sending chills up my spine.

Okay, today definitely qualified as the worst day of my life.

The strange adolescent got up and started walking down shore towards where my pants were laying. He watched me the entire time.

"What are you doing?" he asked, stopping just before my pants.

My fear had returned. My heart had to be going a hundred miles an hour.

"Get away," I warned, mustering up my mind. I was exhausted, but fear powered me.

The boy began to take another step.

I threw a barrier in front of him.

He walked right through it.

The young man suddenly looked down. He had stepped on my pants.

"Oh…" he said. He stared at my pants and then called vaguely, "C'mon. Even I know better than to do _that_!"

What the heck?

The teen spun on the spot and stalked into the woods.

I determined waiting was a bad idea. I quickly scrubbed my hair as best I could and got out of the water. I decided washing my pants wasn't worth the risk of yet another person finding me in only my bra and underwear.

Because I was wet, my pants and shirt clung to my body. The air was a lot cooler now, but all I cared about was getting away from the stupid pond.

As soon as I began marching away from the pond, I called out to Apple with my mind.

It was another five minutes of walking before I finally contacted her.

{Apple!}

{Anita, what took you so long? I was about to come looking for you. Why didn't you contact me earlier?}

{I was out of range,} I muttered, and then I showed her what had just occurred.

{Congratulations on making a barrier!} Apple replied when I was finished.

I rolled my eyes. Should have known I'd get that response.

{And…} Apple continued. {Well, erm, then you're not going to be very happy when you get here.} She showed me an image of Erin talking to the dark haired boy I had just seen by a fire.

{Oh, she is so dead.} I could see a dim light up ahead. {I'll be at the camp in less than five minutes.}

{You know what that guy is?} Apple asked suddenly.

{No.}

{C'mon, you should know this.}

{Well, I don't.}

{He's gifted. He has a dark type gift!}

Oh, wow. That was obvious now that I thought about it.

I finally burst through a bush into the firelight.

I must have been a sight because Erin yelped. The strange young man, however, didn't seem phased at all.

"Oh, Anita. You nearly gave me a heart attack! This here is—"

"GET OUT!" I yelled.

"Anita, he's just—"

"OUT!" I barked.

Erin sighed and reached into her pack. The kid didn't move.

"I don't know how you got so soaked, but go put these on." Erin handed me dry pants and a shirt she had pulled out of her bag. "Then maybe we can have an actual discussion."

I put on the clothes behind a tree and heard Erin mutter, "I am so sorry. She's—"

I tuned out the rest. I didn't want to hear.

{I think you may be overreacting,} Apple said calmly.

{But he's a perv!}

{From what you showed me, I'm not—} I angrily shoved Apple from my mind.

I came out from behind the tree and laid my disgusting clothes out to dry. I sat down by the fire across from Erin and the perv.

"He can't stay," I said unwaveringly.

"Anita, he's just—"

"HE'S A PERV!"

I looked straight at the dark haired young man. Now that I could see him properly, he looked about my age, maybe a bit older. His bright eyes gazed at me from under his spiky jet black hair.

"I am not. You are simply stupid," he replied stoically.

"What! I was nearly naked and you kept walking toward me!" I yelled.

"Whoa!" Erin scooted away from the boy.

"Oh, excuse me," the kid started sarcastically. "First off, I had no idea you didn't have clothes on. Before today, I believed nobody would be stupid enough to do such a thing."

"I was pooped on by a bird! What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, so that's what happened?" The boy smirked. "Still, it's a pretty popular pond; you're lucky there wasn't anyone fishing."

"Yeah, _real lucky_!" I groaned, irritated. "How was I supposed to know Peepin Pond was popular?"

"You _are_ in Acceber. Everyone knows."

Erin nodded. She was siding with him! What?

"Even if you didn't know, who would undress by a pond named _Peepin Pond_? As in, people peep. Really, how brainless can you get?"

I didn't have a reply so I blushed, took in a deep breath, and turned to Erin. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Erin shrugged. "I assumed you knew! It is a pretty common vacation spot. Plus, I didn't actually think you would undress in the wilderness. Eww."

I took another breathe and then asked, "What do _you_ want?" I met the boy's odd gaze again.

Erin answered for the kid. "Before you so rudely interrupted, we were just discussing the possibility of traveling together—"

"NO!" I yelled stubbornly. What in the world was she thinking? What happened to not giving half a thought about a guy? We didn't even know this person, and I couldn't read his intentions. He could be dangerous.

"Will you let me finish? He's a Pokemon researcher like me and is very interested in my area of study."

Erin caught the boy's eye and grinned.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the boy. {I don't like this one bit,} I told Apple.

{I don't like him either. There's no way of telling what his true purpose is.}

"Since we share interests, I believe it would be beneficial to travel together," the young man added. Then he continued, "As a researcher, I am also intrigued by the evolution Pokemon, Eevee. Erin, here, told me you have quite a few of those."

{Oh, sure. This guy just happens to be interested in exactly what Erin is researching and the Pokemon I have. Why does he want to travel with us so much?} I wondered to Apple.

{He can't know what I am. Maybe he knows you're gifted,} Apple thought.

{Whatever the case, he can't travel with us. I'll tell Erin of the situation psychically.}

{Careful, you've never actually spoken to her through your head. You don't know how she'll react,} Apple warned.

I reached out to Erin psychically. {Erin, there is—}

Erin snapped her head to me, her eyes flashing with anger. "Anita, is that you?"

I spoke aloud, "What are you talking about?" but psychically said, {Yes.}

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, ANITA!"

{Well, if he didn't know you were gifted before, he knows now,} Apple groaned.

{Erin, I'm not even listening to your thoughts. I just need to tell—}

"STOP! If you have something to say, say it out loud," Erin snarled at me. Wow, and she said I had a temper.

The kid was watching me, as if he was analyzing my every move.

"You're gifted," he said coolly. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," I answered.

I turned back to Erin. "Now what I'm try—"

"Psychic?"

I looked at the boy irritably. "Yes." He gazed thoughtfully at the fire.

"Erin," I said curtly. "This kid, like me, is gifted."

"So what?" Erin frowned at me. "You just don't want to be shown up!" Erin accused.

Geeze, why was she getting all uptight about this one boy?

{Must be that time of month.} Apple rolled her eyes.

"He's a dark type." I glanced at the boy to see his reaction. He had none.

"And?" Erin led.

"And therefore I can't read his thoughts, making him dangerous to us."

{Actually, technically you can read the thoughts he wants you to hear,} Apple put in.

{What?} I looked quizzically at Apple. {Ugh, never mind. I'll ask later.}

"Just because _you _think he is dangerous doesn't mean he is dangerous to _us_," Erin answered. She glanced at the boy and muttered, "You'll have to give me some tips on keeping her out of my head."

"Erin, be serious for a moment!"

Erin stood up. "I am serious. If he wants to travel with us, let him travel with us. If you can't read his mind to discover his intentions, sucks to be you. I can't read anybody's mind; for all I know, you could be planning to steal my Pokemon."

What was she really thinking? Why was she so trusting?

I carefully crept into her mind.

{—just hates him because he caught her doing something stupid. There's really nothing wrong with him at all. And he seems validly interested in my research without one hint of flirting! It will be nice to have someone to bounce research theories off of. Plus, Anita needs someone to put her in her place, balance all that psychic crap out so it doesn't get to her head. Huh, I wonder why she stopped talking—}

I jumped out of her mind before she could become suspicious.

{I still think it's that time of month.}

{This is really a pointless argument. Can we eat dinner now?} Fiery requested.

"How long?" I asked.

"Huh?" came Erin's reply.

I looked at the boy. "Supposing we allow you to stay, how long will you be traveling with us?" Erin threw me a dirty glare.

The boy shrugged carelessly. "Until I find a more interesting topic of research."

{I really don't like his attitude,} I told Apple. {But Erin already has her mind made up. I could always leave them if things get too horrible… though the company is kinda nice, as much as I don't want to admit it.}

Fiery spoke up. {I have an idea. Why don't you challenge him to a battle? He wins, he can stay. You win, he leaves.}

I grinned. {I like it.}

"Alright then," I started. Erin smiled— she thought I had given up. I looked at the boy squarely and gave him my best challenging gaze. "I'll battle you. You win, you can stay. I win, you leave."

Erin frowned.

The corners of the boy's mouth rose. "No."

"Then you forfeit. You can leave now."

"No, I decline the challenge."

"What, scared you're going to lose?" I taunted.

The boy seemed amused. "No. I won't accept your challenge because I know I would win."

Great, another cocky smart-*ss to put up with.

I glared into the boy's green eyes. "Listen up. I am only putting up with you because at the moment Erin sees some imaginary good in you, and I owe her. If you slip up even once, do something suspicious, or cause harm to any of my friends, you are dead meat. Got it creepy-eyes?"

Fiery was shocked. {Did Anita just call Erin a friend?}

Apple nodded. {She did. Knew this was coming.}

The boy snickered, "Ooh. I'm real scared now." Then as an afterthought, he added, "And I wouldn't be accusing other people of having weird eyes. Yours are purple." The boy gazed into my eyes for a moment, making me shift uncomfortably.

Erin clapped happily. "Well, now that that's settled. Let's get some dinner!" She started shuffling through her bag for food.

The boy got up and walked around the fire until he was in front of me. He held out his hand.

"We never got to introduce ourselves properly—

"I'm Liam.

"Liam Mendol."


	12. Bonding

Chapter 10: Bonding

It was early morning; the sun had yet to rise. As usual, I was already up thinking.

For that is what a Master does; he thinks— he is the brilliance behind the team.

Today, I happened to be contemplating the obvious.

The too obvious.

Often times the most obvious solutions are overlooked for the very reason they are obvious.

In this situation, I calculated a 53% chance of the obvious being true.

The possibilities:

Mew teleported elsewhere or transformed and ran off.

Mew was one of Miss Parkwood's or Miss Kendle's Pokemon.

Mew was Miss Kendle.

Mew was Miss Parkwood.

1, 2, and 3 were all very viable situations. Very viable.

The fourth hypothesis was more than viable.

It was probable.

Which made me suspicious.

Yet, the data lined up perfectly.

The first piece of supporting data was that Miss Parkwood traveled the same exact path Mew traveled. This, of course, applied to the other options as well.

A more interesting bit of information was that, according to Miss Goldenthrill, Miss Parkwood moved to Melonbi Town in the summer before the two girls were in second grade, approximately six years ago. My father found Mew just outside of Melonbi Town six years ago, and no member of Team Glop'emm has glimpsed the Pokemon since. Coincidence? Unlikely.

Miss Goldenthrill also provided some unusual information about Miss Parkwood's childhood. Apparently, Miss Parkwood was unusually comfortable with wild Pokemon at an early age. Before she had her own Pokemon, herds of wild Pokemon would follow her to and from school. This is not the case with normal human children.

Furthermore, the girl had psychic powers.

The silly girl may as well have been screaming, "I am Mew!"

But would Mew really be so unsubtle? According to the obvious… it seemed so.

However, the data needed to be confirmed. I had to verify everything possible before jumping to conclusions.

Much of the information had been obtained by watching the video tape of one of our member's grunts speaking with Miss Goldenthrill. There was no known reason for her to lie, but I would still have to get her information verified.

I would also need more information about Mew. Research on this rare Pokemon was the reason I left my headquarters in the first place. Others could not be trusted with information on one of the most powerful creatures in the world. I would start my research in libraries throughout Acceber… I would have to confirm the legends.

The most important legend I would have to confirm was that Mew kept its psychic powers when it transformed. If my research revealed that this was not the case, I would need a new hypothesis.

And there was also the legend that all psychics and psychic Pokemon have purple eyes. Again, Miss Parkwood fit this criterion.

However, this legendary rumor was actually proven false by several researchers a couple of years ago.

They found that 20% of all purple-eyed Pokemon and humans were not psychics, though many were descendants of psychic humans or Pokemon. This piece of evidence could not be relied upon. It was interesting that one of Miss Parkwood's Eevees had slightly violet eyes. Although Pokemon with unusual coloring were not all that uncommon…

I breathed the cool morning air in deeply. My brain raced forward, foreseeing where this research would eventually take me.

In the end, there would be only one way to confirm my hypothesis.

I quietly pulled a Pokeball from my belt and let loose the Pokemon within. A bird Pokemon with large dark wings and a white feathery chest appeared before me.

I pulled out a pen and a pad of paper. I scribbled the note quickly and tied it to my Honchkrow.

Chief Assistant, Mr. Arkle,

I need you to pull all of our top scientists out of their current projects. Order them to begin researching Ditto and to create a device based on this research that will force a Pokemon to transform. Not evolve—_transform_ as Ditto and Pokemon X can_._ I need this device ASAP. My Honchkrow will stay to oversee that you and the scientists do as I ordered.

-Master

I held the note up to the Honchkrow, and watched as the bird's eyes darted from line to line, reading. I folded up the letter and tied it to Honchkrow's held out claw.

"Deliver this to my assistant, the one I left in charge," I commanded. "Make sure he and the scientists do as ordered."

Honchkrow nodded, and flapped off into the dawn.

I closed my eyes.

And planned.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Good morning, Miss Goldenthrill."

"Humph," I grumpily replied while stumbling into my chair behind the desk. The man sat before me in one of my private rooms for the second time this week. This was where I originally discussed Anita with him.

What in the world could he possibly want at 6:00 in the morning? If John hadn't already let the man in the house, I would have ignored the man's request to speak with me. Beauty sleep was much more important.

I crossed my arms and frowned at the man. "What do you want?"

The man fumbled with his laptop until he finally go it open. He placed it in front of me.

A man appeared on the screen. His face was halfway in the shadows, but I could see his semi-long straight brown hair and dark eyes. He also looked like he had a 5:00 shadow, but it was hard to tell in this light. He had to be in his twenties.

"Miss Goldenthrill, I am glad we finally have the chance to talk." The man seemed to try to smile warmly, but failed. "I have a proposition."

I sneered, "What could you possibly want with me?"

"How would you like to start your Pokemon journey early?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o

{So explain this to me again,} I requested as Apple and I quietly made our way through the dimly lit woods.

Apple sighed. {You can only read his thoughts if he wants you to. See, the mind is actually in the brain. Your powers do not affect any physical part of a person or Pokemon that is dark type. Thus, you cannot see into his mind or even sense where he is. However, when a person projects his or her thoughts, the thoughts are literally flung outside of the body. Therefore, you can pick up this boy's thoughts if he projects them.}

{But he hasn't done that yet. Even when he is speaking, he does not automatically project his words like most Pokemon and humans do.}

{Right,} Apple answered.

{Which makes him even more suspicious.}

{Of what?}

{I don't know,} I said exasperatedly. {Something's up with him though.}

Apple nodded. {I don't like the idea of traveling with him.}

{We're going to have to be careful to not let any of your… weirdness slip.}

Apple frowned slightly. {So are we going to be doing this often? Sneaking off in the morning to practice our psychic powers?}

{Yeah, I think we should make a habit of it. But just to be clear, Apple, this is to practice your psychic powers, not mine. You're not a complete expert you know! You're barely eight years old and need to practice as much as I do.}

Apple snorted. {Well, I'm much better than you!}

{Which is why you can't be practicing in public. Erin already knows I'm a newbie to this whole psychic thing and can barely make a simple barrier. If you started using your psychic powers in public, I'd have to claim they were mine, which is obviously not the case.}

Apple rolled her eyes and huffed, {I know, I know. But really, I don't need the practice. You do!}

It was my turn to roll my eyes. {Sure. You're so _obviously_ perfect; you're much too good for practice.}

Apple smiled smugly. {That's right.} The Eevee eyed me shiftily and then glanced at our surroundings. {I think we're far enough away from camp now.}

Suddenly, my body felt lighter. It took me a second to figure out what was going on.

Unfortunately in that second, I was flung twenty feet into the air.

Let me tell you, floating in midair is an unnerving sensation. It feels like you're stuck in the middle of one of those glass floors, only you're not sure if the glass floor is strong enough to hold your weight. You could fall at any second.

I tilted my head to glare at the Eevee several feet below me. {What do you think you're doing?}

Apple yawned lazily. {Practicing.}

{Put me down, Apple!}

{Hey, you're the one who said I needed the practice.}

I started spinning slowly in the air.

{Apple,} I growled.

The Eevee grinned. {I could be doing worse, you know.}

I was being held upside down.

{Yeah, right.}

{I could transform back into my real self and have better control.}

{Apple!} I gasped.

{Geeze, it was just a joke. I would _never_ transform in public.}

{We're not in public.}

{Ah. In that case, I can see why you're worried.}

{Apple, seriously. You cannot transform, especially with that boy around. Neither of us can sense when he's approaching.}

{I was joking. It is regretful though. I have so much more control as Mew. I could make you float, stop you from blinking, uproot a tree, and move Lemon Lake all at once as a Mew. As an Eevee, I can barely control you and move a pebble telekinetically at the same time.}

{Which is why you need to practice.}

{I thought you wanted me to stop!}

I groaned.

Apple's ears pricked like mini radars. Suddenly, I was plummeting to the earth.

{APPLE!}

I was stopped inches above the ground so suddenly that my breath was knocked from me. Apple released me from her psychic grip.

Apple's ears were twitching this way and that, extremely alert.

{Sorry. We have—}

"Company would be nice; don't you think?" A voice spoke behind me.

I whirled around.

Between two thick trees not ten feet away, Liam stood watching me.

How much had he seen?

{Don't worry. He just arrived,} Apple assured me.

"What are you doing here?" I snarled.

"I woke up, saw your sleeping bag empty, and heard some rustling in the bushes. Naturally, I wanted to see what you were up to. It was very easy to follow your trail." Liam's eyes flickered to Apple and then back to me. "The real question is, what are _you_ doing here?"

"I was practicing my psychic gift. I didn't want to wake up _anyone_." I glared at Liam when I said "anyone" to emphasize I did not want him here.

Liam ignored my implication, and continued, "What were you practicing?"

"I was… err—"

{Dodging.}

"Dodging. Apple was throwing… or actually kicking… things at me, and I had to move out of the way," I lied. I kept eye contact even though my heart was pounding and my breath came up short.

{You suck at lying—}

Something hit the back of my head. "Ow!" I exclaimed.

{—so I have to make this a convincing show.}

I turned to see Apple smirking at me. She shoved her leg forward and kicked another pebble at me. I ducked.

{You better close your eyes so the boy knows you are actually using your psychic powers to dodge, not your eyes.}

I complied.

Another pebble hit my leg.

{Umm, Apple? How am I going to dodge like this? I can't actually dodge with my eyes closed!}

I could imagine the grin on Apple's face as she said, {You're going to actually have to use your gift.}

I doubled over as something hit my stomach.

{Oooh, sorry about that one.}

{Apple, I don't know how to do this!}

{Easy, just do the same thing you've done for everything else. How do you use telepathy? You reach out with your mind and sense a living being and then project your thoughts. This should be easier. You're just reaching out with your mind to sense where something is.}

"I can see you need the practice," I heard the boy sneer.

I cursed him under my breath.

I reached my mind out to where Apple was and automatically jumped into her mind.

I felt her kick something else in my direction so I jumped to the left. The rock skimmed my right arm.

{You're cheating. Get out!} I was shoved from Apple's mind.

I felt suspended in nothingness and noticed that I could kind of "see" what was around me.

Except the boy, of course.

I was naturally drawn to Apple, but I did not allow myself to go toward her mind again.

This was actually not hard. It was almost the same thing I had done when I checked for other life forms near the pond, only now I was attempting to locate nonliving objects.

I suddenly "saw" a twig flying toward me. I ducked out of the way.

It was easy after that. I was able to dodge everything Apple kicked my way.

Until there were two things coming at once.

One was coming from a different direction.

I dodged the one coming from Apple, but was hit by the strange round object flying at me from behind.

I turned around and opened my eyes.

The boy was frowning at me, closer than he had been before.

As I glanced down at the ground, I noticed a Pokeball beside me.

"Why did you throw a Pokeball at me?" I asked.

Liam smirked. "You're going to have to be prepared for anything in a real battle. Even things flying at you from different directions."

I felt Apple suddenly become smug. She must be planning something.

"And what makes you an expert on battling? You're a researcher," I snickered.

I sensed something coming at my head from behind me so I ducked.

The Pokeball launched over my head directly toward Liam.

The boy seemed to twist out of the way, but abruptly his arm reached out and snatched the ball out of the air.

It was very cool.

{Aww, man,} Apple whined sourly. {I wanted to hit him in the face.}

Liam lightly tossed the Pokeball in the air and caught it again while smirking at me. "Believe it or not, I was once a trainer. A gifted trainer. I know what the gym leaders will throw at you."

I grimaced at his pun. And at him. Both were horrible.

"I can help you train better than your Eevee can. I have two arms, and probably better aim."

{Yeah, right. My aim is perfect,} Apple interjected.

"Plus, you're going to need to be able to dodge more than twigs and pebbles."

{He's right. Remember what Abalina said? You could have to battle alongside your Pokemon, which means you may have to dodge all sorts of attacks.}

{So what am I supposed to do?}

{Let him help, I guess. Might as well make the most of the situation.}

"Fine," I said, answering them both at once.

Liam immediately ran toward me and lashed his left leg out.

I stumbled backwards.

I was surprised; I hadn't actually expected him to attack me… to try to hit a girl.

Well, no time to think about that. I had other issues.

{Uh, Apple, I have a problem. I have no way of predicting where he is going to hit.}

{That is a problem.}

Liam's arm was racing toward my face.

Crap.

I moved to the side, but he still managed to hit my shoulder. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but I would definitely have a bruise later.

"You know, I can't sense where you will strike," I panted, ducking a wild punch.

"I know. You will not always be able to rely on your psychic powers," Liam answered calmly. He did not seem to be exerting much effort.

I jumped over a leg Liam attempted to trip me with. Then I ducked because I sensed Apple aiming a quick attack at my back.

Apple hit Liam instead. For once, he looked shocked.

{That felt good.} Apple did a little victory dance. {I know I agreed to let him help you, but don't think he can give you a few bruises without getting a few himself.}

"You will not always be able to rely on your uncanny ability to dodge what's coming your way," I mocked the dark-haired kid.

Liam had gotten over his shock quickly. He stuck out a leg and twirled, causing me to fall over.

"It's called reflexes," the boy said. He stood up and offered me his hand.

I gave him a dirty look and got up myself.

He kicked at me again, and this time I dodged.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

We continued for about an hour until I was thoroughly exhausted.

As we crept back to our camp, I thought to Apple, {How did he get so good at fighting?}

{He says he was a trainer. If that's the case, then he'd have to figure out a way to beat the gym leaders, just like you. Unlike you though, his actual power is not very useful, unless he's fighting a psychic. He probably learned to fight to make up for lacking a useful power.}

{What abilities does a person with the dark type gift have, besides being unaffected by psychics?} I asked curiously.

{I'm not entirely sure. I know they can see perfectly in the dark, and tend to have more energy at night. I think they are also good at hiding.}

We were silent until we reached camp.

"Thanks for helping," I mumbled grudgingly to Liam.

He didn't reply.

"I said thanks." I spoke more loudly.

Liam turned to look at me. "So?"

"So you're supposed to say, 'you're welcome'."

"Oh."

He didn't say anything else.

{Rude, much?} I commented, irked.

I looked around our sleeping grounds for Erin. Her sleeping bag was empty, but I spotted her crouched over sketching something by the edge of the clearing. I was surprised she was already up.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

She looked up at us. "Oh, you guys are finally back! I was drawing a picture of this sleeping Weedle I found." She waved her notebook at us. "So how was your bonding time?"

"Bonding time?" I looked at her like she was insane… or more insane than usual.

"Or maybe it was make-out time?" She suggested, raising her eyebrows at me. "You guys were in the woods for a while."

I gagged. Liam snickered.

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed. This girl must be on drugs.

{I would have smelled that,} Apple stated dryly.

I suddenly realized the scene from Erin's point of view.

"Wait a second. You woke up to find both of our sleeping bags empty this morning, correct?"

"Yeah," Erin answered.

"And you didn't come searching for us?"

"No. Should I have?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I could have been kidnapped, or murdered, or taken advantage of by this stranger?" I gestured to Liam who frowned at me.

"Nope."

"Erin!"

"Did that actually happen?" Erin questioned. She started packing up her sleeping bag and her few other possessions. I did the same.

"Well, no—"

"Then I don't see what the problem is."

"Erin, if the situation was reversed, if I woke up to find two sleeping bags empty, I would have immediately come looking for you!"

"There would obviously be no problem and you would be stupid for worrying," Erin replied.

"How can you say that? HOW CAN YOU BE SO TRUSTING OF A COMPLETE STRANGER?"

"How can you be so sexist and judgmental? You don't even know him." Erin looked at me coldly.

I was about to yell at her again when Apple put in, {Anita, you're losing your temper again.}

{I DON'T CARE!}

Apple winced. {You're going to have to at least try to stop doing that. Soon your powers will get out of control under extreme distress or emotion. You have to practice being in control at all times.}

So instead of screaming, I fumed quietly as we finished packing.

I stormed off after quickly feeding my Pokemon and eating a granola bar.

"Anita, that's the wrong direction."

I stormed the other way.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

It had taken four battles against random trainers dispersed about the route and a lot of walking to calm Anita down. After eight hours of traveling, we were finally at the Tinted Town Pokemon Center. Anita had not said a word to Erin or Liam the whole journey, though Erin and Liam had spent most of the time happily chatting about their past research projects.

Or in Liam's case, perhaps his phony research projects. For all I knew, he was making the whole thing up.

Oh, how I wish I could simply see what he was thinking.

Anita's argument with Erin about whether Liam could be trusted would not be resolved unless Liam did something particularly disturbing. He'd have to do something to prove he couldn't be trusted.

But I did not think that was going to happen.

I did not trust the kid, but for whatever reason, he clearly wanted to travel with the group. He wouldn't do something that would get him kicked out.

When I wasn't battling or trying to help Anita practice making barriers despite the fact that she always failed on our journey to this town, I was thinking about Anita and Erin's argument and watching Liam.

I thought Erin had a valid point. However, because I could not read Liam's mind, I thought Anita was correct in not trusting Liam. I guess my perspective is kind of skewed though.

Liam did not react to any of Anita's accusations. It was very strange. He just looked at her kind of funny, like he was confused by her actions.

I suddenly felt Anita's temper prickle again.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ONLY HAVE ONE ROOM AVAILABLE?" Anita angrily yelled at Nurse Joy. I rolled my eyes; she was blowing up all over the place these days.

"Well, we get many trainers passing through this town to battle the gym leader, visit our famous museum of Pokemon history, and participate in contests," Nurse Joy replied.

"Anita, relax. We can all share a room. There's no difference between sleeping ten feet away from him inside and sleeping ten feet away from him outside." Erin put a hand on Anita's shoulder.

Anita shrugged her off and glared at her.

{Anita, calm down. Nothing will happen.}

{Except being killed in our sleep.}

I sighed.

Nurse Joy showed us our room and then asked Liam to help her move a cot into the small sleeping space. The room was smaller than our room in Azul City, but it had more space because there was a bunk bed instead of two twin beds. Of course, putting a cot in the room defeated the purpose…

"Let's go do something fun," Erin suggested after everyone had put their bags on a bed. Anita had chosen the top bunk, Liam the cot, which left Erin with the bottom bunk.

"I want to go battle the gym leader," Anita said.

Of course she did. {Right, that's a great idea. In your state of mind, maybe you'll get yourself killed before Liam can do it,} I joked morbidly.

Anita gave me a death stare.

"Nope, we're going swimming!" Erin announced. She gestured to the single window at the back of the room. "It must be nearly seventy-five degrees, which is warmer than it's been in a while!" The girl started searching through her bag for a swim suit.

I smiled. Relaxing by the pool would be nice. Maybe they had hotdogs…

"I don't swim," Anita and Liam said simultaneously. They looked at each other in surprise.

Wow, they finally agreed on something.

"Too, bad," Erin said cheerfully, pulling out a white bikini from her bag. She ran into the bathroom, the door slamming behind her in her excitement.

Anita frowned. "Do you have a bathing suit?" she asked Liam.

He shook his head.

"Me neither. Think we could convince Erin that we are going to the library to have more 'bonding time'?" She finger quoted 'bonding time'.

Liam rolled his eyes.

{I don't think Erin will be taking no for an answer,} I told Anita. {She's way too excited to let this pass.}

Erin burst out of the bathroom in a blue tank top and light grey mini skirt. Her bathing suit was on underneath.

"C'mon, guys!" The overexcited girl grabbed Anita and Liam's arms, forcing them to follow.

I trotted after them.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I jumped in the water. The coolness tingled on my skin; it felt amazing.

I did an underwater flip and came up for a breath.

Anita and Liam were still sitting in their lounge chairs. Anita was reading a book and Liam was looking around the pool with those unnerving green eyes.

Anita was still in her capris and t-shirt. I had made her buy a cute purple bikini, which she had on underneath her clothes after my insistence, but she refused to strip down to her bikini and get in the water, claiming it was "too cold." Excuses, excuses.

Liam, on the other hand, had simply grabbed the first pair of trunks he found in the store to appease me. He refused to even touch the water, but gave no excuse. He sat in his trunks, observing everything going on at the pool.

My eyes lingered on Liam for a bit. On a scale from one to ten, ten being gorgeous-hot and one being gross, he was about a six. He was very lean, and it looked like he had some muscle, but whatever chance he had at being hot was ruined by his insanely pale skin. It looked like he hadn't ever sat in the sun. Maybe he would gain a bit of color today.

I suddenly caught Liam's eye. I waved and called, "Come on in! The water's great!"

Liam rolled his eyes. Anita peered at me over her book and scowled.

I sank under water. When I came up again, I watched our Pokemon.

This pool belonged to the Pokemon Center so it was of course for people and Pokemon.

Wella, my Whooper, was floating on her back a little ways away from me. Tweal was playing with one of Anita's younger Eevees, and Griffy was using psychic to entertain the other three young Pokemon. Apple snoozed by Anita's feet, and Fiery was watching the younger Eevees. He always seemed so protective.

Liam had not let any of his Pokemon out.

It was so annoying that nobody, besides Wella, was coming in the water with me. They were such party poopers. I would play with Wella, but she generally liked being left alone.

An idea suddenly came to me.

{Griffy!} I called, knowing he would hear.

{Yes, Erin?}

{Could you tell all the Pokemon to gather here by the edge of the pool?}

{Of course.}

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I tagged Tweal then scurried away. He was it!

Tweal flapped after me as I ran under the lounge chairs.

A couple of people gave me dirty looks, but for the most part, the lounge chairs were empty. There were not many other people or Pokemon at the pool.

I nearly tripped a blonde boy just entering the pool. When I looked up at him, I realized I had seen him before. Anita had battled him in the last town.

I wanted to battle.

{Excuse me, Erin is planning something. She wants us by the pool edge,} Griffy said in my head.

Sounds exciting! Almost as exciting as a battle would be!

I twisted around, nearly tripping the boy again, and ran to the pool edge while Tweal flew after me.

Everyone else was already there.

"Alright guys, here's the plan." Erin smiled deviously.

I liked that smile.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Reading was soothing.

It was just what I needed today.

I had made a deal with Erin that I would buy a bathing suit if we went to a book store for a few minutes.

So I bought the first thing Erin liked and then found a book that looked interesting, called The Gift: More Than a Myth. It was by someone named Tamara Lilac and was apparently criticized by a number of researchers. The author claimed that everything written was true, but critics claimed it was fiction. I found it in the fiction section of the book store.

I was finishing the introduction when I noticed something suspicious.

My chair was inching toward the pool.

I looked at Liam. We turned around to see what was moving us forward.

Nothing was there.

Maybe I was imagining things.

I went back to reading.

Wait, where was Apple?

She had been sitting by my feet minutes ago. I jerked up. Where were all the Pokemon?

As I turned around again, I felt my chair speed ahead.

Behind me, I saw Griffy concentrating on our chairs. I also saw eight Pokemon lifting our chairs.

Crud.

I chucked my book at Griffy as I fell—

_**SPLASH**_

—into the water.

I came up for a breath.

"ERIN!" I yelled. "What was that for? I'm in my clothes!"

Erin shrugged. "You guys were being so boring."

I turned to see all of my Pokemon laughing at me.

{That was awesome!} Splash squealed. He tried to jump in the water, but Vanilla grabbed his tail.

{You can't swim, idiot,} she said.

{Oh yeah.} Splash pouted.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam glaring at Erin from the pool edge. He climbed out of the water so fast that, if I wasn't in the water, I would have thought it was poisonous.

I heard slow clapping.

I swiveled my head to see who was applauding my downfall.

I should have known.

Jake Veneer stood there, smirking, in a bathing suit.

For a moment, I seriously considered drowning myself.

{Crap! He definitely scores ten out of ten on the hot guy scale!} I heard Erin scream. I winced. I hadn't even been trying to hear her thoughts.

This was one thing I just didn't get about Erin. There was a very good looking man lying by the concession stand, but she didn't give him one glance. What about Jake Veneer turned her head over heels?

"That was very clever, Erin," Jake complimented.

Erin beamed.

Oh, please.

He looked at me and snickered.

How I wished I could move things with my mind at that moment. I would make him fall on his face into the water.

{I could do that for you,} Apple suggested.

{Thanks, but no thanks,} I replied. {You've dumped more than enough people into the water today.}

I dragged myself out of the water and went over to the towel stand, where I took about ten towels.

When I turned back to where our lounge chairs were (Griffy must have returned them with a psychic to their original places), I saw Jake flirting with Erin in the water. He said a little too loudly, "I'm here just for the rest of the day because I've already beaten the gym leader." His taunting eyes flickered to meet mine for a millisecond.

I turned my attention to Liam, who was glaring at Erin. I almost felt sorry for him. His glare was going completely unnoticed. I shoved two towels at him, sighed, and started taking off my wet clothes.

When I was finished, Erin and Jake were standing in front of me.

Jake was holding what looked like a mini-basket ball.

"So, Anita, Erin and I want to face you and this new kid in a game of water basketball," Jake challenged. He gestured to the basketball hoop on the shallow side of the pool.

I answered, "You're on," at the same time Liam answered, "No thanks."

I turned my glare from Jake to Liam.

"What, are you chicken?" Jake flapped his arms and made squawking noises.

Liam's fists clenched. However, he calmly retorted, "No. I don't want to waste my time playing against an arrogant snot like you."

"Oh, I'm insulted," Jake mocked. His eyes flashed. "I saw the way you got out of the water. I think you're scared. Scared of a little wa-wa." He flicked his wet hands at Liam so little water droplets hit the kid's face. Liam flinched visibly.

{Whoa. What's up with him?} I thought to Apple.

{I think… I think he might actually be scared of water. Weird.}

Liam got up angrily. "Fine."

He stalked to the shallow end of the pool and hopped in, shuddering.

Jake smirked. Erin looked a bit worried, but she shrugged it off.

I glared at Jake and followed Liam.

When we were all in the water, Erin declared, "Griffy's referee. First team to thirteen wins. If you score, the other team gets the ball. Any questions?"

In the silence, I heard Griffy's tail say, {You must favor the team that dresses like a banana peel on a Wednesday.}

"Alright, then. Let's get started." Erin glanced at me. "Anita, no cheating."

Jake looked at me curiously, "How would she cheat?"

"She's a—" Erin started.

{SHUT UP, ERIN!} I yelled at her. I did not need Jake finding out I was a psychic.

"Anita, get o—" Erin began to shout at me.

{I'll get out of your head as long as you don't say anything to Jake,} I interrupted.

Erin nodded. "Let's go."

She passed the ball to Jake, who shrugged and leapt over Liam to dunk it in the basket.

{Wow, Apple, now I know what it's like to want to use my powers to get an advantage over an opponent. I see what you mean about it not really being cheating… especially against Jake…}

Apple chuckled, and the other Eevees looked at her funny, except for Splash.

Liam had the ball now. He threw it over Jake's head to me. I swiveled around Erin, and passed it back to Liam who was already by the basket. Liam got a lay-up.

And so the game went on.

My favorite part was when I blocked one of Jake's shots, and the ball hit him in the face.

When Jake and Erin won the first game by two points, we played again.

Midway through our second game, a strangely familiar looking man bent down near our basket.

"Excuse me," he said as Erin intercepted my pass to Liam. I clambered after her to stop her from getting to the basket.

The man kept talking. "I'm selling hot—"

Jake got the ball and shoved it into the basket. He fell backwards, which created a huge splash.

The man was thoroughly soaked, as was his tray of whatever he was selling.

"—never mind."

Apple had been racing toward the man until he was covered in water. Then her ears dropped and she went to pout by Fiery. She glared at Jake.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man toss out his food tray and march away muttering angrily to himself.

Liam and I won the second game.

By the end of the third game, it was getting dark. We were all laughing (or in Liam's case, smiling), and had stopped counting long ago.

I was starting to believe that Jake might not be evil, that Erin might not be annoying, and that Liam might have the ability to act normal when it was suddenly time to go.

Jake playfully kissed Erin's hand and bowed. "Good-bye my fair lady."

In his mind, I felt him debating actually kissing Erin. I cleared my throat loudly to remind him who was still here.

He gave me a dirty glance.

Jake stood up straight, turned to Liam, and nodded.

Then he turned to me and stuck up his middle finger.

Nice one.

He could go to hell.

Erin stared after the twit as he stalked away.

"He's such a sweet boy," I said dryly.

Erin, not catching my obvious sarcasm said, "I know. He's amazing."

I caught Liam's eye.

We both stifled a laugh.

Who knew?

There was one thing we could bond on after all.


	13. Watch and Watch Out

Chapter 11: Watch and Watch Out

I sat down on the mat across from Tamara and her Espeon.

Leafeon walked in nervous circles around me.

I was the first, besides Tamara, to arrive. I sighed. It would probably take another fifteen minutes for everyone to gather.

Tamara and her Espeon both sat perfectly still with their eyes closed. It was best not to disturb them when they were meditating.

For a moment, I observed the room our meeting was to take place in. The austere room was shaped in a circle and had bare white walls with no windows. The plain door to my right was the only way to enter the room. Eight light blue mats lay on the wooden floor in a circle, only two of which were currently occupied.

The room was much too dull and lifeless, in my opinion. I wished for there to be at least one window, and maybe a cute potted plant…

I decided to meditate with Tamara.

I closed my eyes and whiffed the homely smell of wood. Sadly, the wood was dead.

I felt below the wood and took pleasure in the richness of the dirt. I silently shared my enjoyment of the dirt with the grass rooted just outside the room. I swayed in the wind with the blades and felt the warm kisses of the sun—

The door slammed.

My eyes flew open as I was jolted away from the grass blades.

Kyle looked at me apologetically as he entered the room. His Vaporeon, Tonsil, followed him in. He and Tonsil silently sat beside me.

I glanced at Tamara, but the older woman was still meditating.

Kyle shrugged and smiled at me, his deep blue eyes kindly questioning "How are you?"

I smiled back to indicate I was fine.

The door quietly creaked open as Nai and her Glaceon, Whisper, entered the bleak room. As always, she was frowning slightly and her grey eyes were cold and distant. She sat down next to Tamara and Whisper sat on her lap.

The sight of her next to Tamara made me chuckle. One looked angry and the other peaceful. It was amusing because the grey streaks in their hair made them look alike, though Tamara's grey was due to age and Nai's was probably because of her gift.

Nai glared at me when I chuckled. I swear the room temperature dropped five degrees.

It was ten minutes before anyone else entered the room. I was with the grass outside again when I heard a booming laugh. I checked my watch; they were late.

The door hurled open and in walked a cackling old man and an obnoxiously loud red head, Sparky and Aden respectively. Sparky's Jolteon, Sparkles, and Aden's Flareon, Eon, also entered.

"HELLO ALL!" Aden announced loudly. Sparky continued to laugh madly. Electricity made his grey hair stand straight up and every once in a while a spark would ripple across his body. These sparks were what earned him the nickname Sparky; his original name was Sam.

Tamara finally opened her eyes and scowled at the two gym leaders.

Aden smiled wickedly at Tamara and sat down next to Nai. Sparky sat in between Aden and me so I scooted my mat closer to Kyle, not wanting to accidently be shocked.

"So, what did you call this emergency meeting for?" Aden asked Tamara.

I rolled my eyes. As if he did not already know.

"We'll discuss it once everyone arrives," Tamara answered stiffly.

"But not everyone will be arriving!" Sparky yelled and then continued to chuckle under his breath. The old man scared me a bit.

Aden happily thumped Sparky on the back but then shook out his hand when he was shocked. Nai sneered at the two of them and then spoke: "Crazy has one thing right. One of our members will obviously not be coming. Why don't we just start and get this horrid thing over with?"

"We have to at least wait for the twins to arrive," Kyle reminded her.

"And how do you know both of them will be coming?" Nai asked spitefully.

"Tamara put out two mats," I said a matter-of-factly. Tamara smiled at me. Nai glared again.

Aden snorted. "Those two are always late. We could be here another hour before they show up!"

Just then, the twins, Dustin and Tali, entered the room, each holding an Eevee. Technically only Dustin was a gym leader, but because he did nearly everything with Tali, she was often included in our monthly meetings.

The twins, at age seventeen, were the second youngest current gym leaders of Acceber. The youngest was the reason this meeting had been called.

Dustin looked around the room, snickered, and sat down. Tali smiled mildly at me and then sat next to her brother. Their Eevees, Ray and Cassie, grinned at the other Eevee evolutions around the room. My Leafeon finally stopped pacing and sat by my knees.

For one moment the room was completely silent. Even Sparky had stopped laughing.

Then Tamara cleared her throat and spoke: "Before we get to the main issue of this emergency meeting, we must go through the traditional updates.

"In the past month, over one thousand different trainers have attempted to challenge at least one of us. Currently, there are a total of approximately fifteen thousand active trainers in Acceber. There are two new gifted trainers. One is Florence Traken, who has a weak rock gift. The other is Anita Parkwood, who has a strong psychic gift.

"Now for individual gym updates. Nai?"

"Only one individual has visited my gym this month. He lost, but I believe he will be attempting to beat me again soon, as he has not left my town," Nai answered.

Tamara nodded.

"Well, I haven't been successful as Nai here," Aden started. "Of course, I don't live on top of a mountain nobody can reach." Nai threw him a nasty glare. "I've had… oh, about twenty kids beat me this past month. Just two days ago, a kid named Jake Veneer whooped my butt."

Wow. I knew the boy was good, but that was _fast_. He had beaten two gym leaders in half of a week.

"Exactly twenty-seven children earned a badge from me," Sparky cackled. "Twenty-four of them had a ground type Pokemon though."

"Let's not make excuses," Tamara said dryly. "Find a way to win despite your weakness. I do."

The old man laughed. "All of Acceber is scared shitless of you, though."

"And they're not scared of you?" I murmured to Kyle.

It was my turn to speak. "I have been beaten by eighteen challengers this month. One of these challengers was Jake Veneer." I nodded to Aden. "Another was the gifted child, Anita Parkwood. I expect she'll be challenging one of you two—" I gestured to Sparky and Aden. "—relatively soon."

"Thirty challengers beat me this month. Especially noteworthy was Megan Dorin and Matthew Rowbean," Kyle pronounced clearly.

Tali did not say anything but looked expectantly at her brother.

"We've lost thirteen times this month," Dustin said. He frowned.

I sighed. He despised losing.

"I was beaten by four," Tamara stated. She looked at Kyle. "Megan Dorin was indeed noteworthy."

Dustin snickered.

Kyle calmly asked him, "Is something funny?"

"Just that you two found Megan to be some amazing trainer. Tali and I beat her and her friend easily."

"If you do not have any constructive criticism, say nothing at all," Tamara snapped.

"Someone's a sore loser," Dustin taunted.

Tamara glowered.

This could not be going anywhere good. I gave Dustin a reproachful look and interrupted their argument before things got out of control. "Can we get back to important matters?"

Tamara blinked. "Of course." She looked around at the Pokemon and thought to all of us, {Is there anything the Pokemon would like to add before we move on?}

The Pokemon shook their heads. That was usual. The Pokemon tended to only get involved when absolutely necessary. For the most part, they were just not interested in the politics that came with being a gym leader.

"Obviously there is one of us missing," Tamara began. "For the record, not one person beat him this month."

Dustin rolled his eyes and mocked, "For the record, nobody has ever beaten a Mendol." He gazed at Tamara slyly. "Not even you."

I stared harshly at Dustin. He was always causing trouble, but I had hoped he would tone down today. Luckily Tamara was taking it well. She ignored him.

Sparky's laughter grew louder.

Kyle cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him. "How do we know he is missing?"

"Let's see," Nai answered severely. "Maybe it's that nobody has seen or heard from him for the past four days."

Kyle shrugged. "He was never very sociable."

"I called him about every other day just to make sure he was alive. I can check up on any of you at any second, but not him," Tamara added. Dustin looked irked. He hated the fact that Tamara could watch any of us at any time. It didn't bother me much; in fact, I felt safer. Tamara continued, "Four days ago, the boy left a note on the gym door indicating that finding him was the new prelim for the gym. Since then, I have not been able to contact him."

"Has anybody else been able to contact him?" I asked. I looked pointedly at Dustin, as he was the only person I had ever seen the Mendol boy act semi-friendly toward.

Tamara looked around the room into the eyes of each individual. I knew she was sensing if we were hiding any information.

She looked into Dustin's golden brown eyes.

He sneered at her.

She looked harsher, and suddenly Dustin's expression became angry. "Stay out, Tamara," he warned.

"You spoke with him," Tamara said quietly.

"OUT!" Dustin yelled at her. "I can block you."

The air was still, full of silent tension.

Both Tamara and Dustin were concentrating intensely.

"STOP IT!" Tali yelled with such force that my eardrums hurt. She was the reason we always met in rooms without windows. Her gift gave her power over sound, and if she lost control of her emotions, windows often shattered.

Tamara, apparently, was shocked out of Dustin's mind with Tali's yell. She kept shaking her head.

"Keep out of my brother's head," Tali growled.

Tamara's eyes flickered to Tali for a moment and then returned to Dustin. "Would you like to inform us what he told you before he disappeared?"

"Not really," Dustin snickered.

"I wouldn't be pushing my luck, boy," Aden threatened. "You're in a room full of gifted gym leaders and their best Pokemon."

Dustin shrugged. "He only told me he had research to do and that he would be leaving for a bit. He said if anyone actually found him, he would accept their challenge."

Tamara must have sensed that he was not lying because she said nothing.

"Well, that bit of information was sure worth getting all worked up about," Nai put in sarcastically.

"Like anyone will actually find the lad," Sparky said, chuckling. "We are the only people who have actually seen his face."

"So what do we think he's actually doing?" I questioned, curiously wondering.

Dustin answered dryly, "Maybe research, like he said he was."

"Why would he need to do research?" I watched Dustin inquisitively.

Dustin shrugged.

"Oh, c'mon you guys!" Nai exclaimed. "It probably has to do with Team Glop'emm!"

Aden's face darkened, as did Tamara's.

There was silence.

Nai looked around. "I know you have all heard the rumors. _Master Mendol_. Who else could it be?"

"There are plenty of Mendols in Acceber," Tamara answered carefully.

"Really? When was the last time you checked?" Nai asked icily.

Tamara was silent.

"We cannot make assumptions based on rumors," I added logically. "We do not have actual proof."

Kyle, Dustin, and Tali nodded in agreement.

"Plus, it does not really matter where he went," Kyle started practically. "The fact is, he's gone. We just need to decide what we are going to do about it."

Silence.

We all looked around the room, waiting for someone to talk.

Finally Nai said bitterly, "What can we do about it? He technically has not violated any rules. We cannot replace him because he did not officially give up his gym and has not officially gone missing. Technically, it's just part of his prelim."

"For all we know, he could have just gotten tired of answering Tamara's phone calls," Kyle joked.

Yeah right.

"So we do nothing," Dustin decided.

"No," Tamara argued. "We watch. If one of us finds him, we immediately contact the others."

All but Dustin and Tali nodded in agreement.

The Pokemon, except Dustin and Tali's Eevees, nodded as well.

"Fine. Dismissed."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I sat silently on the uncomfortable cot and thoughtfully watched the girl on the top bunk sleep.

Moonlight crept through the window and glimmered just above the girl's head. Her usually straight brown hair was strung out wildly across her pillow, sharply contrasting her cream colored face. The rest of the girl's body disappeared beneath the pearl white bedcovering.

The girl looked completely at ease in her sleep.

Completely normal.

Could this girl really be one of the most powerful Pokemon known to man?

I sighed and quietly reached into my bag, carefully pulling out a grey walkie-talkie.

There was not even a squeak of the old cot or a creak of the door as I slithered from the room.

I had a call to make.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The walkie-talkie vibrated.

I overcame the impulse to chuck the toy out the window and answered the childish device.

"Yes?"

"It's the Master," came the irritating voice through the radio. Of course it was. The detective had yet to contact me and I was starting to believe the two twerp relatives were hiding information from me. All the more reason to get Carly on the detective's trail as soon as possible…

"You received my message?" the boy inquired.

"Yes, _Master_," I replied with disdain.

"And our top researchers are currently experimenting with Ditto?"

"Just as you requested, sir." His dratted bird hadn't left me alone until I had made his request an order.

"Excellent. I need the device as soon as possible." The master paused, almost hesitantly. "Also, I would like to speak with Rita Teal."

I snarled under my breath. I was supposed to be the one left in charge. I was supposed to be the only person allowed to talk to the Master through this device. It was my power. Why would he need to speak with Rita? She was the team's top researcher, but he could tell her anything _through me._ Anger rose in my throat.

"I need to talk to her," the Master continued smoothly, "to arrange some experiments I have just discussed with our detective."

I was seething, but I tried to keep my voice steady. "When would you like to speak with her?"

"Now."

I considered calling her to my office. She would have the advantage then. She would have the ability to spread lies of the master's trust in her or horrid rumors about me. No, it would be better if I went to her. Other researchers would witness the conversation, and perhaps this would create jealousy. I could use their jealousy to my advantage.

"This will be a few minutes," I informed the Master icily. I rose from my leather chair, and walked out my door to the elevator.

The Team Glop'emm headquarters building consisted of several floors, most of which were opened to the public. The building was supposedly used for the gym leader's research, which was ironically true at the moment, as the gym leader was also the leader of Team Glop'emm.

When the empty elevator arrived, I pressed B5.

The building looked to be four stories from the outside. Floors one and two were open to the public and we held several displays on some of our minor research on these levels. Floors three and four were closed for "privacy reasons." They were actually mostly used for meetings and some high ranking team members' private offices. My office and the Master's office were both on floor four.

There were seven basement levels, five of these levels filled with labs. Only levels six and seven were strictly closed to the public. The other levels could be seen upon request, for the most part.

The elevator door opened and I walked into a blue-tiled hall way. I entered the first lab on my right and scanned the room for the woman I was looking for.

Even though it was early morning, there were several scientists about the room working with complex looking machines. A couple of the machines had glass boxes in which Dittos were being held. A cluster of scientists near the back of the room were observing a Ditto transform into different objects, animals, and Pokemon. I easily spotted Rita walking toward this cluster.

I cleared my throat. The lab became silent as everyone turned to look at me.

For a moment I savored the respect they were showing. Then I said, holding out the walkie-talkie, "Rita, you have a phone call."

There was almost complete silence as Rita changed directions and approached me. Only the soft buzzing of the machines and the clack of Rita's heels against the cold floor could be heard.

Rita waved a hand and the other scientists returned to their work. Or they at least pretended to. Many eyes continued to flicker between the walkie-talkie and Rita.

With a large concentration of people in this building, news spread fast. It was no secret that this talkie was the only device used to contact the Master.

And up until this point, it had only been used by me.

Rita grinned widely as I bitterly handed her the phone. The top scientist of Team Glop'emm was a very bizarre character. The woman was a few years younger than me, but only an inch shorter with her high heels. For reasons unknown to me, she kept her hair died a solid Wobbuffet blue and wore multicolored Pokeball earrings. The woman could be found in one of the labs at nearly any hour of the day. Along with overseeing every one of Team Glop'emm's research projects, she often developed her own projects and experiments. She was also rumored to be an excellent battler.

"Yes?" she said into the walkie-talkie. I strained to hear what the Master was telling her, but only managed to hear the words, "experiment" and "Pokeball."

Rita seemed to absentmindedly walk across the room to one of the glass cages and let out one of the Dittos. She held a blue Pokeblock out to the Ditto. "If you transform into me, you can have this," she told the Pokemon. Immediately the Ditto transformed. Now there were two Ritas standing side by side. Rita gave the Ditto-Rita the Pokeblock, and the Pokemon gobbled it up.

"Yes," the real Rita murmured. "The Ditto still likes the Pokeblock." Rita then stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a Pokeball. She threw the Pokeball at her duplicate.

The Pokeball bounced off of the Ditto.

"The Pokeball does not affect Ditto in this form, Master. The Ditto has entirely human genes at the moment." Rita paused. "No, you are right. There has to be some DNA in the Pokemon somewhere that allows Ditto to transform back. It cannot be completely human." Rita nodded to the Ditto and the Pokemon transformed back to its original form. Rita scooped the pink blob up and lifted it into the cage. The scientist then took out a piece of paper and began scribbling notes.

Five minutes later, Rita looked her writing over. "Yes, I'll be sure to do these. I'll inform Jam—" The Master must have cut her off. "Fine. I will. Here's Jamie."

I took the phone from Rita's gloved hand and held it up to my ear as I walked out of the lab. "I am having Rita perform a series of experiments for me. She will send the results to me via Honchrow."

I grimaced. The Master trusted me less than I expected. "Of course."

"Master out."

I scratched my chin aloofly as I waited for the elevator. Clearly, the Master was purposefully keeping information from me. I had believed putting me in charge was a sign of his absolute trust. I angrily grinded my teeth. This put a slight damper on my plans. I would have to figure out what he was hiding. I reviewed the scene I had just witnessed.

Rita had thrown a Pokeball at a Ditto transformed into a human.

Of course.

He suspected the girl was Mew.

But what was the point of withholding that information?

_He's paranoid_, I reminded myself. _Or… or maybe he does not want you getting to Mew first._

Whatever the case, I had clearly overestimated the amount of trust he put in me.

I eyed the room with the Mew tracking device in it and grinned.

Well, if he was not telling me everything…

I didn't have to tell him anything.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I put the walkie-talkie down and breathed in the cool early-morning air.

I wondered how my assistant was taking my talk with Miss Teal. He often became angry when I did not confine solely in him. It was actually quite amusing.

But nevertheless dangerous. It was too bad I had no other means of contacting Miss Teal without revealing my location. Then my assistant would know nothing of the experiments I wanted her to perform. The less he knew about Mew, the better.

I watched the setting full moon.

My gift made it nearly impossible to sleep on nights like this.

So instead, I sat alone, contacting my assistant and remembering.

My memories were the reason I was here.

I hated my memories.

They made me emotional.

They made me weak.

Yet the more I tried to forget, the more I remembered.

_The warm sun shone high in the sky._

_Over Slateport City's graveyard._

_A man and his son walked silently through the graveyard's entrance._

_Despite the warm weather, both were wearing black._

_A breeze whistled quietly over the grass._

_The recently well-trodden grass._

_Many of the older graves toward the back of the graveyard were strewn about, as if they had been displaced from their original location._

_There were several new graves near the graveyard's entrance._

_All were in perfect condition._

_The man and the boy stopped at the twenty-third grave on the right._

_The man sat down on his knees. He pulled a single white flower from inside his jacket and placed it in front of the grave._

_The grave read:_

_Sue Mendol_

_April 13, 1971 - July 2, 2003_

_Wife, mother, and friend._

_A light of the dark._

_Tears rolled down the man's cheeks._

_The son watched his father weep with distant eyes._

"_Why?" The man murmured. "Why why why why why?"_

_The boy frowned, intelligence glinting in his eyes._

"_Mom and Auntie are dead. They are gone forever?" The boy asked as if there was some misunderstanding, as if there was hope that this reality was fantastical._

_The father turned to his son and enveloped him in a hug. "Yes, they are gone."_

_The boy's frown deepened. "But then where's L—"_

"_Shh." The father held his son closer. "Your cousin is still missing."_

"_So he's not dead?" The boy looked hopefully up at his dad._

"_We're not sure," the man replied hesitantly. "There is a very good chance that he is."_

"_But we don't know yet?"_

"_Not yet."_

"_When will we know?"_

"_I don't know." _

_The father patted the son comfortingly on the back, but then broke down crying._

_The son sat in his father's arms staring at his mother's grave coldly._

"_Sue." The father spoke quietly. "Sue, I have failed you." The man's breathe quickened. "I couldn't protect you. And now you're gone."_

_A desperate moan escaped the man's lips. His body quivered._

_The boy stared ahead._

"_I couldn't save you. I couldn't save Maria. I couldn't even save— No. Gone. Everyone." The man waved his hands wildly. "All these people are dead! Why?" The man laughed hysterically. "Because some legendaries decided they wanted to battle!"_

_The man's chest heaved._

_The boy stared ahead._

"_They got their battle alright. It took just one wave to decimate half the loved ones in this city. Just one wave." The man closed his eyes and tried to calm his uneven breathe._

"_One f*cking wave," he shouted angrily. "F*cking legendaries with their f*cking powers. F*ck them!" The man was sweating. "They ought to be killed. Too much f*cking power. That's what they have. Too much. Not good for society. Too much f*cking power and too much f*cking destruction."_

_The boy stared ahead. His bright eyes never wavered from his mother's grave._

"_I ought to kill them," the man murmured frantically. __"No. No no no no no. __I can't. I won't. I failed you, Sue, but I will not fail our son. No. We will leave. Leave this horrid f*cking country with its f*cking legendaries."_

_Tears flew freely off from the man's face into his son's hair. _

_The boy stared ahead._

"_We'll go somewhere safe. Somewhere without legendaries." The man grinned wildly. "How about it son? Want to leave this dump?"_

_The boy finally turned to his father._

"_Yes, Papa. Yes."_

I clenched my fists.

F*cking memories.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I woke up with a start.

Light poured into my eyes.

I jolted into a sitting position. The clock on my PokeTech said 5:00 a.m.

Phew. I had dreamed that I overslept and lost the opportunity to battle the gym leader.

Beams of moonlight fell through the window onto my covers.

Ahh. That was what had woken me.

I lied down on my side to try to fall back asleep.

The cot across the room from me was empty.

I closed my eyes.

The cot was empty.

I jolted up and rubbed my eyes.

Where was Liam?

I cautiously crept down from the top bunk, careful not to wake Apple or Erin.

I slipped out of the room.

The hallway was dark and empty, as was the staircase leading to the main floor.

I shivered as a gust of cool air brushed my skin.

Wait. Cool air? Someone must have just entered or exited the Pokemon Center.

I warily stepped down the stairs to investigate.

I ran into someone on the final step.

My wrist jerked away from my body.

I tried to shake the grip off but failed.

I turned to glare at whoever had grabbed my arm.

Luminous green eyes shone into mine.

"Hey!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry," Liam said, releasing my arm. He actually sounded sincere. "Reflexes."

The boy must have been swiftly walking toward the staircase. It was hard for me to take my eyes away from his strange ones. They glowed in the dark like a cat's.

"What are you doing up?" I hissed.

"I could ask you the same question."

I waited expectantly, glaring harshly.

"Fine. I couldn't sleep. It's very difficult for me to sleep on nights when there is a full moon," Liam answered. "I went for a walk."

My gaze softened.

"Oh," was all I could say.

"And you came to catch me molesting a girl or doing something horrible?" The boy snickered coldly.

I was taken aback.

"Are you going to go back to sleep?" Liam questioned intensely.

Did he want me to?

"No," I replied defiantly.

His eyes glared at me harshly.

He really wanted me in bed.

Ooh, that sounded so wrong. I did not mean it that way. Good thing Apple was not up to read my mind.

"Fine. Then you're training." He grabbed my hand again and strutted toward the exit. "We'll work on your barriers too."

I made a mental note to be more compliant in the future.

Me and my big mouth.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

**CLOSED**

"COME ON!" I yelled. "What gym closes on a Tuesday?"

Liam grinned knowingly.

Weirdo.

Erin shrugged. "Maybe there's a shoe sale."

"The gym leader's a guy," I answered flatly.

"So?"

I rolled my eyes. So did Erin. "I'm just kidding."

I sighed. "Well, we have the whole day free. What should we do?"

"Shop!" was Erin's immediate response.

"No!" Liam and I answered.

Erin sulked.

{I hear there's a good museum in town,} Apple suggested.

I relayed the suggestion.

"I heard that too! I also heard they have a new, cool special display on Mew! We should definitely go check it out."

Liam, Apple, and I all chuckled.

Apple and I stopped abruptly and looked at Liam.

Why was he laughing?

Liam's face turned stoic. "What?"

I shrugged.

"We're going now!" Erin declared, ruining our awkward moment.

Ruining any moment, for that matter.

Typical.

/ / / / / / / / / / /

The museum had a number of odds and ends. There were quite a few fossils and several rare stones. I was tempted to take the fire, electric, and water stones on display. They were hard to get and I would be able to evolve the Eevees with them. I resisted despite the encouragement from Apple.

{Aww. They were pretty and useful. Pretty useful. Could'a taken them no problem,} Apple whined.

{Except the I-get-thrown-in-jail part. That would be a slight problem,} I replied sarcastically.

We reached the Mew exhibit.

_Mew contains the DNA of every Pokemon,_ I read.

No, duh. Hadn't heard _that_ one before.

I walked over to wear Erin was looking at actual pictures taken of Mew.

{Are any of those you?} I asked curiously.

{Hmm.} Apple examined the pictures. {Most of them are from other regions. Ahh. That one on the end is me.}

I looked at the picture. It was a picture of several houses on fire. In the bottom left corner there was a pile of ash. A Mew stuck its head out of the ash.

{That's from when I was just born,} Apple said proudly.

{Err, did you cause the fire?}

{Not purposefully!}

I turned to the right and saw Liam examining a different wall. I walked over to see what he was looking at.

_Mew die and are reborn every 5,000 years. Legends of the phoenix actually originate from this Pokemon. After a Mew has lived for 5,000 years, the Pokemon undergoes a process in which it releases all of its excess psychic energy, causing an explosion. The new Mew is born from the old Mew's ashes after the explosion._

_The latest rumored Mew explosion occurred just a few years ago in Acceber's own Vintage Village. If it did indeed occur, it would be the first time a legendary Pokemon was ever sighted in Acceber. There were only ten witnesses, seven of whom were not able to confirm that they actually saw Mew._

{Is this all true?} I asked Apple.

{What? The whole blow-up then reborn thing? Of course! They got the place—Vintage Village—right, too.}

{Why did you decide to blow up in Vintage Village? Shouldn't you have gone to a more secluded area?}

{I wasn't the one who decided to go there. I wasn't alive for the decision; my father picked the area. I have no idea why he chose Vintage Village of all places.}

Liam was watching me intently.

{He is seriously a creeper,} I commented to Apple.

{Yeah he is. He kind of reminds me of the man who chased me just after I was born.}

{Right. You told me about that. I'm amazed you got away.}

{I did, but he kept finding me. I wasn't safe until I finally met you. Haven't seen the man since.}

I smiled down at Apple.

My stomach growled.

Liam was suddenly next to me.

"Here, want a piece of candy?" he asked.

I looked at him dubiously. Was he trying to poison me?

He offered it again. "Here, I insist. It will calm your stomach." He shoved the candy into my hand.

What the h*ll?

I narrowed my eyes at the boy and held my hand with the candy in it towards Apple.

{Is it poisonous?} I asked.

Apple sniffed. {Nope. Smells yummy.}

{Are you positive nothing is wrong with it?}

{Yup.}

Liam was still watching me. "Go ahead; aren't you hungry?"

I slowly unwrapped the candy and then took a bite.

It was a good sign when I didn't die.

It was a bad sign when I spit the candy out onto Liam's shoe.

"Ew. What was in that thing! It tasted like roasted barf-covered bananas!" I exclaimed.

Liam shrugged.

Apple gobbled the chewed remains from Liam's shoe.

Erin walked over and grimaced at Apple, apparently having witnessed what had just taken place.

When Apple finished, Liam casually returned to his examination of the Mew exhibit.

Erin and I exchanged looks of disgust.

Apple licked her lips.

{Delicious.}

This group had serious issues.


	14. Rare Encounters

Chapter 12: Rare Encounters

The warm waft of coffee filled my nostrils as I stared out the window at the hoards of people moving through the bustling street. It was much quieter in here than it was on the street. I picked up my pink cell phone and dialed.

I tapped my nails against the table as I waited for someone to answer my call.

"My dear, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

I snickered silently. This man on the line was full of such bullsh*t.

"As you said, Mr. Arkle, I was supposed to call you if I found any information."

"Ah. And what information might that be? You cannot have already met up with Anita; neither of you could have reached Nelcorn City in just two days."

I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the teen sitting across the table from me.

"No, Mr. Arkle. I ran into a friend when I went to stalk up on supplies in Azul City, and we were talking in a coffee shop when he mentioned some interesting information about Anita." I smiled widely.

"Who is this friend, exactly?"

I stared into the amber eyes of the teen.

"Reece Dracuta."

"Who?" The voice asked through the phone.

"Reece. He's a friend of mine from elementary school."

"And how did the topic of Anita Parkwood come up in your conversation?"

"I started to tell him how all my dreams were coming true; how if I completed this mission involving Anita I would be—"

"You told him about tracking Anita!"

"Well, duh—"

"You g-ddamn idiot! This mission was supposed to between you and me. Not another soul is supposed to know about it. Now I'm going to have to—"

"Don't worry. Reece can be trusted. He hates Anita as much as I do, and he wants to come with me on my mission."

"Fine. If you tell one more person, I swear I will have you murdered. What information did you find?"

"A couple of days ago, Reece was by Peepin Pond and he saw Anita in the water…err… taking a bath." I held a hand over the phone and hissed, "_Pervert!_"at Reece. He shrugged and grinned. "Anyway, he tried to walk over to the pond to greet Anita and he hit an invisible barrier. Then Anita shouted at him and he was flung away from the pond. Reece swears he saw no Pokemon and Anita never commanded one anyway."

"She has the gift…" The voice trailed in the phone.

"The what?"

"She's a psychic. That explains— Never mind. As I promised, you, as well as Reece, shall be rewarded for this information."

"You'll get me into Acceber's beauty pageant!" I screamed in excitement. Other customers in the coffee shop scowled at me. Reece snickered.

"No. That's only if you complete the mission." I growled angrily, but kept listening. "I would give you money, but we both know you have no need for that. Thus, I would like to offer both you and Reece one Pokemon each."

"Any Pokemon?"

"I can get you nearly any non-legendary Pokemon. We have quite a selection. It will have to be a pre-evolved Pokemon because you may have trouble controlling a very strong Pokemon without badges."

"Reece, if you could have any non-legendary, pre-evolved Pokemon, what would it be?" I asked Reece casually.

"Bagon."

"Reece wants a Bagon, and I'll have a Dratini."

"Excellent choices. I'll have them delivered to you personally by my Yanmega. Do not hesitate to call if you find more information. Goodbye, Carly."

The line went dead.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I walked slowly through the silent hall of basement number seven toward the single door at the end of the hall. I placed my hand on the door. After a quick scan of my DNA, the door opened.

Only a select few members of Team Glop'emm that were permitted through this door. As far as I knew, only I, the Master, and Rita Teal were allowed to access this room.

I breathed in deeply and grinned. I was one of the few trusted.

I had access to any and every Pokemon Team Glop'emm had captured or stolen.

The dragon aisle was to my right. I walked toward that isle. Each isle was filled with thousands of Pokeballs. In each Pokeball, of course, was a Pokemon. Before the Pokemon arrived in this room, its memory was wiped through several intense cycles of psychic waves from psychic Pokemon, such as my Hypno.

I passed the aisle filled with Pokeballs containing dark Pokemon. Dark Pokemon were the one exception to the mind wipes. However, there was rarely a demand for such Pokemon as there were so few of them, and those we did sell were dealt with by the Master. With the Master's affinity for dark Pokemon, these Pokemon were really not an issue.

I reached the dragon aisle. The Pokemon were sorted by type and then alphabetical order. The shelves containing Dratini and Bagon were relatively easy to find, as these letters are near the start of the alphabet. I chose the least experienced of the Dratini and Bagon for my spies. No need to waste the good Pokemon on such fools, though successful fools.

The information they had given me was golden; it was the jackpot. Who would have guessed that Anita Parkwood was psychically gifted? It had to be fate that this piece of information stumbled into my hands.

It explained everything. Of course the Master suspected Anita of being Mew. It was completely obvious that this had to be the case.

And of course he would not want Anita being taken in and tortured. He wanted Mew for himself. He did not want to risk anyone getting the power before he did. He needed Anita to stay away from Team Glop'emm so there was no chance that the most cunning and powerful people could capture Mew before he captured the legendary.

Plus, to capture Mew, he needed her to transform back into a Pokemon. That explained the device he needed to be made and the Pokeball Rita threw at the Ditto. He wanted to capture her safely away from Team Glop'emm.

Wow. He must really trust that relative-detective-whoever-it-was of his. He trusted that sneak more than his assistant! Grr…

He had threatened the rest of Team Glop'emm to stay away from the detective and the girl.

If only I had the power to override that threat…

If only I could overthrow the Master…

I stared at the Pokeballs in my hands.

I smiled widely.

Perhaps there was a way.

Now that the Master was gone, the team's income money was not being wasted on hundreds of useless research projects.

We had a surplus of money.

And a surplus of Pokemon.

That I was currently in charge of.

If I could bribe Carly and Reece with a few Pokemon…

How many Glop'emm members could I win over with a pocket of gold and a handful of rare Pokemon?

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I woke up hating the world.

This happened to me sometimes.

I was unhappy, and I didn't know why.

I had everything. I was a psychic, I had friends who cared for me, and I was going on an adventure.

So why did my life suck so much?

Why was I unhappy?

{Hormones,} Apple answered in response my thoughts. {I mean, you're not always angry. You just have mood swings sometimes.}

I shook my head.

{Come on, Anita, stop moping! I want to go battle the gym leader!}

I sighed, got out of bed, and changed into my regular clothes.

Erin burst out of the bathroom attached to our room surrounded by the steam of her hot shower.

"Where's Liam? I want our breakfast now!"

{Me too!}

I rolled my eyes. After Liam and I had practiced again a bit this morning, Erin had woken up and demanded that Liam pick up breakfast from the pancake restaurant a few blocks away from the Pokemon Center. I had gone back to sleep.

Liam had been gone for nearly an hour now. What could he possibly be doing?

{Maybe he's looking for or making that delicious candy you spit out yesterday,} Apple suggested.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Erin answered it, and Liam walked in holding several delicious smelling bags.

Of course, Apple immediately tackled Liam to the ground, any wariness towards the boy completely forgotten.

{FOOD!}

"What took so long?" I asked sharply.

Liam got up and took out our breakfast. Well, what breakfast Apple had left for us.

{You should just be grateful he brought food!} Apple commented, her mouth bulging from her attempt to swallow about ten pancakes at once.

"There was a long line."

Erin and I sat on Erin's bed and Liam sat on his cot as we ate breakfast. Erin chattered on about some nonsense, I pouted, Apple timed how long Erin could go without a breath, and Liam ignored us all.

The usual.

Finally, Erin asked, "So, Anita, do you think you're ready for today?"

I nodded absentmindedly.

Erin smiled and squealed, "I can't wait to watch! Liam and I will be cheering for you!"

Liam shifted… almost uncomfortably. "I will not be watching. I have some… research to do at the library here."

"What research?" Erin asked curiously.

"None of your business," Liam answered harshly.

Maybe I wasn't the only one in a bad mood today. Then again, Liam was always in a bad mood.

Erin looked offended.

I shrugged. Maybe if I beat the gym leader today I would be able to somehow force Erin to leave town without meeting up with Liam.

After we ate a rather quiet breakfast, Erin and I released the rest of our Pokemon so they could eat as well. Liam sat and watched.

I asked him, "Why don't you ever let your Pokemon out to eat? Actually, why don't you ever let them out? Do you even have Pokemon?"

"Of course I have Pokemon," Liam sneered. "When inside their Pokeballs for a prolonged period of time, Pokemon have no need for food to survive."

"Don't you want them to be happy and free! To enjoy their lives!" I retorted.

"They are perfectly content."

"But are they happy?"

"Nobody can ever be truly happy."

"I'm happy," Erin and Splash objected at the same time, though no other human could understand Splash.

"Let me rephrase that. No _intelligent _being can be truly happy."

"Ouch," I interjected with a grin on my face. This was just the conversation I needed to put me in a more cheerful mood. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to convince Erin to ditch Liam.

"Hey!" Erin's voice changed from the usual high and whiny to serious. "I've written several research papers for Acceber's world reknown _Scientific Daily._ I was also the valedictorian of my class and I won the academic actress of the year award from my after-school acting class."

"So what if you are book smart? If you have no ability to take and use that information on a deeper level, it does not matter. You're too… shallow to qualify as intelligent."

Erin looked like she was about to start yelling but I cut in. "You haven't known Erin for long enough to judge her. She may look shallower than a child's pool, but it's a façade. She's really a profound and clever person."

Erin beamed at me. Liam snickered.

Erin grabbed our Pokeballs, returned our Pokemon, took my hand, and sprung to the door. "C'mon, Anita!" she yelled, angrily stalking from the room.

Erin calmed down a bit once we left the Pokemon Center.

"Anita… thanks for standing up for me."

"No prob."

"But I have a question for you: What did I do to make you understand I'm not shallow?"

For a moment, I considered telling her that she was one tricky b*tch. Then I thought better of it. "Well, once I realized you were purposefully talking a lot, I knew you were more than you appeared to be. It also help that I'm a psychic. Mostly though, it was that despite your obnoxiousness, I know you care about me and your Pokemon. You're not self-centered."

"Hmm…" Erin murmured thoughtfully.

"Why do you care so much about what he thinks?"

"Grr… I always make a good impression. Always! I thought I did a good job when I first met Liam. We discussed our research for hours!"

"Erin, you should really forget about it. In fact, forget about him! I'm all for ditching him after the gym. _He's_ the self-centered, shallow, *sshole!"

Erin rolled her eyes.

"I'm not kidding!"

Erin sighed. "Believe me, I know. But we can't just abandon him! He's not a bad person. I just need to think of a way to prove… well, I'm me, I guess."

"I think you're taking this whole thing too seriously. You should forget it."

"I'll think of something," the red-head mumbled.

{She's as stubborn as I am,} I noted to Apple.

{Yup! Can't wait to see what she comes up with,} Apple answered cheerfully.

We stopped walking down the narrow street. On our right, only a block away from the Pokemon Center, was the gym in plain sight. The building, like the road and the sidewalk, was made of red brick. Above the doors, there was an indent in the wall of bricks that held a small flame.

The most important feature of the gym, however, was the sign that read _OPEN_ on the giant metal front doors.

Apple, Erin, and I ran up to the doors. As I slowly cracked the door open, I heard a booming laugh. If I didn't know better, I would have classified the laugh as borderline evil.

The room I entered was pitch black.

Or at least it was until a bright spotlight blinded me.

I blinked several times, but couldn't force my eyes to focus.

"Muwahahaha," a loud voice boomed from somewhere in the darkness. "Welcome, Anita Parkwood, to Tinted Town's gym of fiery doom! I have been expecting you. Muwhahahah!"

{Oh boy, this guy is a freak,} I said to Apple.

"Please give the Pokemon that you will not be battling with to your friend. You may not use these Pokemon in your prelim today, but they, along with your friend, may watch from a distance from behind a thick layer of heat-resistant protective glass. After your friend has your Pokemon, she must exit the room."

A red exit sign lit up to my left. I handed the Pokeballs of the four youngest Eevees to Erin and she walked toward the exit sign. After I heard a door close, the loud voice spoke again.

"Your prelim today must be completed alone. Release the two Pokemon you will be battling with… should you actually pass my prelim—a doubtful occurrence! Muwahahaha!"

A blue square illuminated in front of me as I released Fiery from his Pokeball.

"Ah, Eevees. Expected. Well, Eevees, step onto the blue square."

{How can he tell what Pokemon you are?} I asked Apple curiously as I sensed her trotting toward the blue square.

{This gym leader is gifted with fire and heat. He can sense the temperature of people, Pokemon, and objects… almost as if he can see in infrared.}

{What will happen when you touch the blue square?}

Apple and Fiery touched the square.

My question was never answered.

They had disappeared.

I panicked and reached out to them with my mind. "What did you do with them!" I yelled. I could vaguely feel they were still alive so they couldn't have gone too far. However, it was too much of a strain for me to attempt to communicate with them. They were just beyond my psychic range.

"Muwahahaha! I have transported them to me for safe-keeping! Or rather, unsafe-keeping!"

A screen appeared just above my head. This whole being kept in the dark thing was starting to get on my nerves. I got the feeling that the gym leader only did it for effect…

Fiery and Apple appeared on the screen. They were in a metal cage being held over a bowl of bubbling lava. How the gym leader managed to keep the lava from burning through the bowl is beyond me. I squinted to see their expressions. Fiery looked angry and kept trying to break the cage open with iron tail. Apple was just rolling her eyes… maybe at the whole situation. Her expression calmed me. If she was not worried, then they probably weren't in any real danger. Probably. Maybe she had read the gym leader's mind and knew something I didn't know.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked mildly. For goodness sake, this was supposed to be a gym. Threatening my Pokemon with death seemed a little extreme.

"Of course it is!" A red-headed man appeared on the screen. "I have not had the chance to formally introduce myself. I am Aden Flarrent, master of fire and leader of the Tinted Town gym."

"Congratulations," I said dryly. As an afterthought I added, "Is it even legal to hold my Pokemon hostage?"

"Well, seeing as the gym leaders make the laws in the first place— yes."

"My Pokemon could die!"

"So could you. So could I, for that matter. You don't see me complaining about my mortality though."

I opened my mouth to retort, but Aden held up a hand to silence me. "I would prefer it if you held your questions and comments until the end of my prattle. Let me explain your prelim for this gym." Aden paused. "Tell me, Anita, have you ever played a Mario game?"

What the hell?

"Err… I had a Gameboy Color that I could play Mario on… but what the heck does that have to do with anything?"

Aden chuckled loudly. "Let me show you."

Suddenly, bright lights blinded me. I blinked for about a minute before I could finally see straight. Then I had to blink several more times to verify the reality of what I was seeing.

Large stone bricks were stacked everywhere. The wall to my right, the ceiling, and the floor were all stone. The wall to my left was entirely glass, except for a metal door directly next to me. Beyond the glass there were wooden stands. Erin waved to me from her seat; she was the only person in the stands.

I could see now that the screen above me was hanging from the stone ceiling. Aden was smiling brilliantly on the screen. Beyond the screen there was what looked like… a Mario level. To be precise, it looked like one of those Mario castle levels from my Gameboy game. Fireballs hurled in every direction and there were several twirling sticks of fire. At times there were gaps in the floor, and I did not doubt that between these gaps was hot lava or fire, just like in the games.

I strained my eyes to see if this hall of stone and fire ever ended, and I swore I could make out a brown bridge at the end of the tunnel.

My eyes stared at the scene in amazement.

Another booming laugh came from the screen.

"Welcome to the Tinted Town Gym."

No doubt about it. This guy was insane.

"The prelim is very simple. You just have to make it to the end of this tunnel and defeat Bowser. Then I will release your Pokemon and you may battle me."

I shook my head. "Did you just say defeat Bowser?"

The camera shifted so I was looking at a Torkoal. "This is my Torkoal, Bowser."

"I have to battle him!" I exclaimed. I didn't have my Pokemon; how was I supposed to do that?

"I never said battle. I said defeat. There is, of course, the standard button on the end of the bridge that will cause the bridge to collapse and Bowser to fall."

"Are you mentally stable?" I asked seriously.

"Stability is a funny thing…"

"You can't have put other trainers through this! Nobody would pass!"

"Of course not. You, however, are a gifted trainer. I can put you through whatever I want—including this brilliant setup."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"Oh, I didn't mention: there's a time limit," Aden casually said on the screen. "Your Eevees are being lowered toward the lava bowl about six inches every minute. I'd say that gives you about ten minutes before—"

"They'll be fried!" I interrupted.

"Nah. Just severely burned. Actually, in your case, they might evolve. It's been known to happen."

That should have been a relief. Should have. But Apple was not really an Eevee, and thus, Apple could not really evolve. So if I did not reach them in the next ten minutes…

Apple would not only be burned…

She could be exposed.

"Time's a-ticking."


	15. Fire Away!

Chapter 13: Fire Away!

I looked over the list.

1. Pokeball- _failed to catch transformed Ditto_

2. Pokeblock- _transformed Ditto ate with delight; should be noted, however, that different Pokemon like different flavors_

3. Pokeflute- _did not wake transformed Ditto from sleep_

4. Battle- _is a better fighter than most humans, still loves to fight as a human_

5. Physical touch- _interestingly, the transformed Ditto does not react normally to human touch. The Ditto often takes touch as a signal to battle. Also, when touched by another human for an extended period of time, the Ditto becomes uncomfortable._

6. Language- _the transformed Ditto cannot speak in English; we are currently attempting to see if it is possible to teach the Pokemon_

I leaned my head back against the thick tree. The results of the tests thus far were fairly inconclusive.

"Honch!"

I looked up at my Honchrow, who hovered, awaiting orders. I nodded to the Pokemon. "Go back."

I closed my eyes. The one other test I could use was Miss Parkwood's background. Perhaps I could find a hole in her story…

As my eyes darted across the list one more time, I smiled to myself.

My detective was the only person in the entire world I would entrust with such a job.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

A ball of fire randomly swung towards me. I ducked and felt a rush of heat fly across my back. I winced as the heat continued, and then screamed when the pain became too unbearable. I rolled onto my back.

The stone floor was nice and cool. I stood up and touched my back. The blistering pain made me grimace. I felt my hair, and when it was not as soft as usual, I held up the ends so I could see them.

They were black and burnt. My hair had caught on fire. That must have been what had scorched my back. Quickly, I flipped my hair into a ponytail.

I ran forward. Another fireball came at me but I dodged to the left and was unharmed. I silently thanked Arceus for Liam. Without his practice I would have been dead in the first thirty seconds of this prelim.

I came upon the first stick of twirling fire tied to the ceiling. As it spun, I looked below it and realized the flames did not ever touch the floor. The tip of the stick came short of the floor by about a foot every time it twirled around. I got onto by belly and inched my way forward like a beat up Seviper. Each time the fire came inches away from my back I held my breath.

Just as I was beyond the reach of the twirling sticks of fire, I looked up to see yet another fireball hurling my way… less than two feet away. I closed my eyes.

I tried to summon a barrier.

I really did.

But since the pond, despite working with Apple, Griffy, and Liam, I had not been able to create even one barrier.

I prepared for the pain I was about to endure.

It never came.

I opened an eye and saw that the fireball was gone.

{You're welcome.}

I looked around, confused. {Apple?}

{Yeah?}

{Did you stop the fire?}

{Duh.}

{I told you not to use your powers! Someone is going to find out!}

I could imagine Apple snorting. {This is the thanks I get for saving your life!}

{Apple, stop! I'm serious.}

{Relax, Anita. It looks like you summoned a barrier. Nobody will suspect it was really me. Plus, if you don't get your butt down here soon, I will be exposed anyway!}

{So you realized it, too?}

{What, do you think I'm a moron? Actually, don't answer that.}

I got up and looked to my next obstacle. It happened to be a gap in the floor I would have to find a way over. I walked to the edge of the stone and peered over the ledge.

Heat flashed against my face as a fireball rose from the lava below and then dropped back down. Again, I would have been severely scorched if a barrier had not appeared in front of my face.

{Anta! You need to be more careful; it's exhausting trying to create barriers from this distance.}

{Thanks, Apple.} I paused. {Wait a second. How can I even talk to you?}

{This distance may be out of your range, but it's not out of mine! Now get a move on!}

I took a step back from the lava and waited. The fireball rose from the lava again. As soon as it started going down, I took a running start.

I really shouldn't have looked down.

But I did.

I leapt. Fire flashed before my eyes. I looked to the stone on the other side and realized I wasn't going to make it.

No. I had to.

I fell. I reached out for the stone with my arms, and I barely missed the stone.

Suddenly, I felt an unnatural force push me forward. I gasped as my breath was knocked away, but I caught on to the stone ledge.

{Anita, I just told you to be careful!} I could hear strain in Apple's voice, from both worry and tiredness.

The heat beat against the soles of my feet. I struggled to pull myself up over the ledge with my arms and made a mental note to do push-ups every day before bed. Finally, I found an invisible crook to stick my foot into and maneuver my body over the ledge.

For a moment, I panted on my hands and knees. I looked at my PokeTech. It had been five minutes.

Crap.

I turned my face forward and could clearly see the bridge now. It was still a ways away though. If I was going to survive and move quickly, I needed to be more attentive.

I closed my eyes and listened.

I "saw" a fireball coming my way and easily ducked under it.

I approached another stick of twirling fire, but this time, instead of wasting my time squirming my way beneath it, I waited for just the right moment between twirls and ran through it.

Another ledge was ahead of me.

This time I was already running, and my eyes were closed; no chance of looking down.

I jumped and made across.

Ahead of me was a giant green tube taking up the entire hallway. If I remembered correctly, giant green Venus Flytraps came out of those tubes in the games. They sometimes spit fireballs.

A Carnivine rose out of the tube.

I didn't think it could spit fire…

But I sure was not about to stick around to find out.

The giant plant lashed out at me as I reached the tube. I pretended it was Liam's leg attempting to trip me. I jumped up and landed on the Pokemon's head.

I wish I could say I then used the Carnivine's head as a springboard and to gracefully jump over the hole following the tube.

I wish.

Instead, I fell off of the Pokemon, bruised my head, and tumbled to the ledge.

The Carnivine was stunned for the moment from me hitting its head. I wearily picked myself up and stared across the ledge. On the other side, there was a twirling fire stick on the ground, and then, finally, the bridge. Apple and Fiery were now hanging less than a foot above the lava bowl on the other side of the bridge.

First things first, I needed to get across the ledge. I didn't want to tire Apple out any more if I did not have to; she still had a battle after all of this. Because of the green tube, there was no room for me to take a running start.

How the heck was I going to get across?

I looked at the Carnivine that was starting to recover. Maybe…

{Hey you! Carnivine! I bet you can't catch me!} I challenged.

The Carnivine glared angrily. {You little twit! You'll be my dinner!} The grass Pokemon lunged at me. I stood on the very edge of the ledge and the Carnivine couldn't reach. {Man, if I was not tied to the stupid tube, you would be dead meat!}

I stuck out my tongue and taunted, {Nya, nya, nya, nyaaa, nyaaa! You stink! You're a lemon-headed stupid looking, plant with vines that couldn't hurt a fly! And you're supposed to eat flies! Ha ha!}

The Carnivine licked its lips. {People are actually my favorite snack. And these vines are good for something—} The Carnivine threw its vines at me. {—catching you!}

If this Carnivine could laugh evilly like Aden could, I'm sure it would be right now.

This, however, had been what I was waiting for. I jumped up onto the tube beside the Carnivine so the vines would not hit me.

Carnivine vines are long and very powerful. When they miss, they go a long distance and take a few seconds to retract. This Carnivine's vines happened to reach all the way across the ledge, nearly to the final twirling stick of fire. I took the opportunity and ran across the vines to get across the ledge.

Immediately, the vines started to curl up and retract quicker. When the end tips of the vine reached my feet and started grabbing for my ankles, I jumped as far as possible and then broke into a dead sprint.

A vine caught my leg. I reached with my mind ahead of me and sensed a gap in the twirling fire. I twisted my leg and tumbled through the gap.

The vine attempted to grab my leg again, but it was hit by the fire.

For a moment, I watched the vine wither in agony and then retract.

I shakily rose to my feet. Apple and Fiery were just inches above the bowl of fire.

Bowser, the Torkoal across from me, threw a fire ball at me. I sprinted forward and jumped over the ball. I reached the Torkoal and took a giant leap over the turtle Pokemon.

As if in slow motion, I watched Bowser open his mouth beneath me and let loose a flamethrower attack. A circular barrier appeared under me, and the flame was bounced back at the attacker.

I landed on the button.

The bridge's support snapped and Bowser fell to the lava below.

Beside me, the metal cage was just touching the lava. Fiery and Apple were both doing what looked like a potty dance to avoid getting burned. I rapidly opened the cage to release them.

We all fell to the ground and sighed in relief.

{Thanks, Apple,} I said while patting both Eevees on the head. Fiery didn't even seem to mind.

{It's a lot easier when you are right next to me. Really though, you should learn to make barriers yourself.}

{I'm trying!}

{I know, I know.}

"Muwahahaha!" I rolled my eyes and smirked when I saw Apple doing the same.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bridge rebuild itself. I did a double take. There the bridge was, like it had never been destroyed.

Beside the bridge I saw Bowser climbing up over the ledge. {That was fun!} I heard the overexcited turtle shout as he jumped off the ledge into the lava again.

"Congratulations, Anita Parkwood, on making it past the prelims."

I snapped my head around to find Aden standing directly in front of me. He was wearing a very attractive amber vest and jeans, and somehow his hair seemed redder in person. His mud-brown eyes glinted with laughter as he held his hand out to help me up. I took it and his strong arm pulled me up easily.

I glanced back at the bridge. "How did you—"

"Rebuild it?" Aden finished. He pulled out a remote control and pressed a button. The bridge collapsed, or rather, it folded downward so it looked like the bridge collapsed. Aden pressed another button and the bridge rebuilt itself. "Very simply, actually. So how did you like the prelim? Was it fun?" There was not a drop of sarcasm in his voice.

I scratched my head, not sure how to answer. "Err…"

Aden thumped me on the back, ignoring my awkwardness. "I knew you would like it. It's just too bad I'm only aloud to use this setup for gifted children…"

"Too bad…" I echoed.

"Well, I guess we should get down to business. Because you passed my prelim, you have to battle me. Muwahahaha!"

"Why do you always do that?" I asked.

"Do what?" Aden replied.

"Try to laugh evilly."

"Doesn't it make everything more dramatic? Don't you fear me more because I can laugh like that?"

I shook my head. "No."

Aden snapped his fingers. "Damn. I have a friend that can pull a fear-instilling laugh perfectly. I thought I'd give it a go. Oh well…"

"So the battle…" I reminded the gym leader.

"Right. Well, my battle is a bit different because you are gifted. Essentially, you and I will both act as Pokemon."

"What?"

"This is a three-on-three battle. I choose two Pokemon and you choose two Pokemon. In addition, since we have Pokemon powers, we act as Pokemon and battle as well. Unlike usual battles, all three members of each team will be fighting at the same time and any member of one team may attack any member of the opposing team. It is unlikely that you will be able to command your Pokemon because you will be battling beside them. The first team to knock all three members of the opposing team out wins the battle."

"So basically, this is like a double battle… only it's really a triple battle?" I asked, realizing soon after how stupid I sounded.

Aden nodded. "We will be battling on the bridge. You will be using your two Eevees, and I will be using—" Aden released two Pokemon from two of the Pokeballs tied to his belt. "—Eon, my Flareon, and Nip, my Growlithe." Aden raised his voice and spoke down the hallway. "My other Pokemon should evacuate the area to avoid interference."

{Hey! I'm still tied here!} I heard Aden's Carnivine call.

I almost decided not to inform Aden. Almost. But it would be awful if the Carnivine did manage to get loose and try to eat me during the battle. Thus, I repeated the message to Aden, who pressed another button on his remote control.

A shiny Ninetales I hadn't seen, Bowser, and the Carnivine all exited through another door in the glass wall. Aden led me to the side of the bridge and then suggested, "You should leave anything you do not want ruined by the side of the bridge."

Aden took off his belt of Pokeballs and his vest so he was left bare-chested. For a moment, I couldn't help looking at his tanned six-pack.

I gulped.

He was strong.

I put down my pack, and after a moment, I decided to take off my t-shirt so I was just a tank top and shorts.

I slowly walked across the bridge, trying to calm myself with deep breaths. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I couldn't help thinking, _What if I screw everything up?_

{You'll be fine! You just handled that obstacle course by yourself!} Apple said in an attempt to comfort me.

{I wouldn't have made it without your psychic powers!}

{Well, I can still use my psychic powers to help you, so we are all good.}

When we reached the end of the bridge, I turned around to face Aden. We stood in silence for a moment. Then Aden declared, "Begin."

Immediately Eon, Nip, and Aden threw flames at us. Yes, I included Aden. He apparently had a powerful fire gift and could create and throw fire with his hands.

I watched in shock. A psychic barrier rose in front of me.

{Move, Anita! You need to fight and protect yourself. At this rate, I'll use up all of my energy protecting you!} Apple hissed. I jumped to the side and Apple released the barrier. Both Apple and Fiery launched themselves at Eon and Nip. Aden decided to join Nip to take on Fiery. I watched uselessly as Fiery attempted to dodge the Growlithe's bites and Aden's punches along with the fire they both could control.

Apple, in the meantime, was exchanging tackles with Eon.

{Anita, go do something!}

{What can I do?}

{You've been practicing with Liam! Go help Fiery. Or come help me. Just. Do. Something.} Apple growled while using sand attack. Eon was temporarily blinded and Apple took the opportunity to help Fiery by hitting Aden with a quick attack.

I noticed that Fiery was not as harmed as I thought he would be from taking on two. I approached Fiery and Nip.

I felt very awkward. Even though Nip was battling Fiery, I did not want to attack the Pokemon. I had fought with humans… but Pokemon seemed almost sacred to me. They never seemed to be the ones causing the problems of this world, only innocent bystanders. To go up and kick Nip just seemed so wrong.

Fiery saw me watching him out of the corner of his eye.

{Thanks, Anita, for stopping all of the fire attacks,} he said as a barrier appeared between him and Nip's ember attack. Apple, on the other hand, took a hit from Eon.

Guilt flooded my mind.

Apple was doing everything for me… because I was too pathetic to do anything.

Pain rushed through my body as something hit my back.

"Hehe. Do you think I'd let you miss out on all this fun?" A booming voice said above me. "I'm surprised you did not see that one coming; you've blocked nearly everything else."

I reached out with my mind and felt Aden throw another punch at me. I rolled to my right and he missed.

I heard Fiery yowl in pain.

Apple must be getting tired. I reached out and felt the minds of my opponents. None of them were wearing out quickly. I leapt into Aden's mind and through his eyes, I watched him prepared to throw fire at me.

I saw the fire was about to come from the palms of his hands. With my own body, I kicked his arms up so they fired fire away uselessly. I sensed his surprise.

Because I was in his mind, I could always see what he was doing next. I always dodged.

The only problem was he didn't seem to be getting tired.

Every once in a while, I checked up on Apple and Fiery. In a moment when Fiery seemed about to falter from wheel of fire coming towards him, Apple knocked him out of the way with a quick attack. Apple then began fighting Nip, while Fiery took on Eon.

Apple was holding her own against Nip.

Fiery, on the other hand, was nearly exhausted. He was taking more and more hits, as Apple was too drained to continue creating psychic barriers.

I ducked under one of Aden's kicks. He was extremely strong, but he was slower than Liam. Besides the first hit, he hadn't hit me once.

An agonizing scream pierced the air. Fiery had been struck by Eon's fire fang.

I ran towards Fiery to help. Apple attempted to reach him too, but she was blocked by Nip's extreme speed.

Fiery lay weakly on the ground. Aden's Flareon stood above him with a triumphant look on his face. A small ball of fire began to build in the Flareon's mouth.

{STOP!} I yelled. Eon was momentarily distracted. He looked at me, and a moment later, I hit the ground.

My foot was on fire; it felt like a thousand needles were being stuck into my lower leg. I jumped into Eon's mind and could taste my own blood.

He was biting me.

I lifted my leg up and pain shot up my entire body. I then slammed my leg onto the ground. I felt Eon wince in pain and he released my leg.

Darkness tickled the corners of my eyesight. My body wanted to faint, but I couldn't abandon my Pokemon. I felt Eon prepare to bite me again, and I felt Aden begin to launch his fire at Fiery.

Many things happened at once.

I mustered up all of my energy and hurled myself toward Fiery, who was still lying on the bridge a few yards away. Then I forced my mind out in front of us.

Eon missed me and hit the ground hard.

Both Fiery and I would have been cooked by Aden's flames if I hadn't managed to create a barrier in front of us.

The force of Aden's fire, however, created holes in the bridge's railing on either side of my barrier. I heard the splash of rocks tumbling to the lava below.

Aden's fire did not cease. He kept up a continuous stream, and I tried to hold my barrier. I kept being forced backwards.

Aden summoned a giant pulse of energy and sent the fire down his continuous stream. I was hurled backwards over the edge of the bridge.

Fiery and I fell towards the lava, but I managed to catch hold of the bridge's ledge. I tried to catch Fiery.

I failed.

{FIERY!} I called desperately as the Eevee plummeted towards the lava.

I put every last bit of energy I had into forming a barrier below Fiery to hold him.

I'm not sure if I succeeded, but even if I did, it was only for a few seconds. I was just too tired… I was a failure to my Pokemon.

I considered just letting go.

I didn't think Aden would let me die, but I'm sure I would be knocked out. Then this battle would be over…

_WHAM_

I looked above me and saw Apple growling at Aden, who was knocked on his butt.

{Get up, Anita!}

{I can't….} I said weakly.

{C'mon, Anita, don't give up now! I knocked out Nip!}

I tried to pull myself up. I felt Apple debate with herself silently and then give me a small psychic boost. I was up on the bridge again, but Apple had collapsed. {Apple!}

Eon and Aden were both on the ground, but getting up. Aden was grinning.

"Alright, Eon," Aden said, turning to his Flareon. "Let's finish this."

I closed my eyes and tried to summon my psychic powers. So did Apple.

Flames rushed toward us. Neither Apple nor I had managed to summon the strength to create a barrier.

I prepared for pain.

But it never came.

I opened my eyes and saw a Flareon standing in front of us, smiling widely. The fire had no effect on the Pokemon. For a moment I was confused. How were there two Flareons? And why was one protecting us?

{Miss me?}

I gasped. {Fiery?}

Fiery, the newly evolved Flareon, nodded. I grinned. Beside me, Apple smiled weakly.

{Let's go!} Fiery launched himself at Aden. I limped toward Eon; the bite on my leg was still painful. Eon easily dodged around me and aimed a flamethrower at Apple. Apple's eyes widened with fear.

But Fiery was there again.

He stood above her, protecting her from the flames. The flames gave him strength.

I felt Apple's final strength leave her as she used helping hand to transfer her energy to Fiery. Fiery glowed with energy.

He launched himself at Eon.

Something hit the back of my head.

Darkness overcame me.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Fire splintered through my body. I winced.

"I think she's awake," I heard someone whisper.

I opened an eye. White surrounded me.

"Hey, Anita, how are you feeling?"

I tried to speak but my voice stuck in my throat.

I blinked several times until I could see Erin standing above me. "That was a sweet battle, you know."

"What happened?" I mumbled.

When I turned my head, splintering pain ran down my back. On the bed next to me, a Flareon stood protectively over a sleeping Eevee.

The Flareon noticed I was up.

He grinned.

{We won.}

I passed out.


	16. Visions of the Passed Past

Chapter 14: Visions of the Passed/Past

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

_Time._

_Something that there was just too little of._

_Air swished around me as I streamed ahead rapidly._

_A deep aching rumbled through my entire body. _

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

_My body shuddered involuntarily from head to tail. I continued my journey through the clouds, my whip-like tail propelling me forward._

_Tick._

_I begged my internal clock to slow. I begged time to slow. What I would give to be a Celebi…_

_Tick._

_The ocean below glittered like ice in sunlight. Little ships were sprinkled about._

_The land was behind me. Far behind._

_As were my old problems._

_Tick._

_Never again would I clash with the clone._

_Never again would I endure such a struggle for power._

_Power was simply not worth it._

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

_My new self would be safe… if only I could make it._

_The old land behind._

_The new land ahead._

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

_Another deep rumble._

_The only problem—_

_Tick. Tick. Tick-tickity-tick. Tick. Tickity-tick._

_Time was almost…_

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

… a melody whistling through my ears. Soft notes caressed my fuzzy brain.

I was in two places.

A pair of eyes blinked open and I saw my own body relaxing in white bedcovers.

I yawned, or rather, the body I was in yawned.

A wave of surprise suddenly sent a shiver down the body's spine. {Hey! What are you doing in here?}

Oh.

I was in Apple's body.

{I honestly have no idea,} I replied.

Apple yawned again. {I just had the strangest dream…}

{Hey, me too!}

{I was flying above a big ocean—} Apple started.

{There was a melodious clock—} I said at the same time.

We both paused.

{You had it too?} we yelled at once.

{Yes!} we answered, again together.

To make the situation less awkward, I stopped talking. {That was some serious déjà vu,} Apple commented.

{This has happened to you before?}

{Kind of. Well, not the part where I wake up with you in my head too, but the actual dream… It just felt so real, realer than my usual dreams. Almost like a vision…}

A pause.

{Is that possible?} I asked.

{Maybe. I don't know…}

I came to a sudden realization. {Hey! The shape of the land, remember? The land that we were flying towards in the dream—that was Acceber!}

{Duh.} I felt her eyes roll.

{Well, sorry! Not all of us have the gift of your _brilliance_, Miss I-attack-anything-with-food.}

{Only if it's good food. Now, will you kindly return to your own body so I can rest in peace?}

{You're not dead yet,} I countered.

{Your lame puns are killing me.}

I was pushed from Apple's mind back into my own.

As I opened my actual eyes and shifted my legs, I groaned in pain. I felt awful. My head hurt and there were too many bruises below my skin for me to find any one in particular extremely painful. The worst was my right leg, which was bandaged. Every time I moved it, a sharp sting rushed from my toes to my torso. When I didn't move, it just ached.

"Hey, you're finally awake!"

I moaned at the voice… at Erin's voice. "Go away."

"You think I'm going to leave after waiting a day and a half for you to wake up?"

"Please…" I mumbled.

Erin abruptly changed the subject. "How do you feel?"

"Awful."

"Yeah, you were battered pretty badly, but at least you won! You should have seen Fiery! After you were down, he went crazy. He knocked out that other Flareon in just one hit, and then the gym leader never landed a punch or kick on him! He was like BAM and—"

"Eevee, Ee!" {Shut up!} Apple barked at Erin.

{Hey, you read my thoughts perfectly.}

{Well, I am psychic,} Apple answered. I turned my head. To my right, Apple was snuggling next to a snoozing Fiery on a white hospital bed identical to the one I was laying on. To my left, Erin was sitting in a chair and had clearly understood Apple's message because her mouth was clamped shut. Next to Erin, much to my surprise, was another figure.

Liam.

"What are you doing here!" I asked accusingly.

"He's here to support you! He's been really sweet, and he rushed back here after the battle. He was even playing a flute for you when you were asleep," Erin answered.

{Yeah, and I had to tackle the kid to make him stop playing that stupid instrument. I couldn't get an ounce of sleep when he was playing; you, on the other hand, slept through the entire thing,} Apple complained.

"Why are you defending him? Didn't he call you stupid the other day? Are you over your argument so soon?" I asked almost desperately. My hope of abandoning Liam was fading away too quickly.

"Nope, I still think she's a shallow idiot," Liam stated as he folded his arms across his chest.

Erin glared at him for a second. "I'll have his mind changed by the end of the day," she said stubbornly.

"Now I really need some painkillers," I grumbled.

"Oh, the nurse told us to come get her if you got up!" Erin announced as she jumped to her feet. "I'll be right back…" She ran out the door.

I turned to Apple and watched as she rested her head on Fiery's paw. {Since when have you and Fiery become so close? Are you two dating or something?}

Apple snorted, causing Fiery to twitch in his sleep. {You think Pokemon date?}

{…No…}

Apple grinned evilly. {What Fiery won't know won't hurt him. He's so big, warm, and fluffy now; it's really comfy to curl right up next to him.}

{He'll kill you if he finds you practically on top of him when he wakes up.}

{He can try,} Apple snickered.

{Whatever, it's your problem. Just don't seduce him or anything…}

{Are you trying to imply something?} Apple snapped.

{Nope. I don't know what you are talking about,} I replied too innocently.

{Why you little—} I blocked Apple's thoughts when she started swearing at me. I looked over at Liam, who was staring at me again.

"So… tell me something about yourself," I began, attempting to pull an Erin icebreaker.

"Everything is none of your business," Liam responded sharply. The teen narrowed his eyes at me. "How about you tell me something about your life."

I rolled my eyes. "Like?"

"Like your childhood."

"And why do you want to discuss my childhood?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't."

"Then why are you asking?" I practically yelled.

"To prove a point. Neither of us is willing to give private information to each other." Liam grinned knowingly.

If I was not stuck in this bed I would have punched him for his smugness… or tried to punch him. I probably would have ended up falling on my face. For the sake of disagreement, I replied, "Not true."

Liam's grin widened. "Then prove it. Tell me a childhood story."

"Fine!" I closed my eyes and recalled…

_A typical salt-scented breeze swept through a typical alley on a typical evening in Goldenrod City._

_A small girl with a lightly freckled nose and cropped brown hair crouched just outside the alley, leaning towards a fallen garbage can. In the girl's hand was a piece of bread._

"_Don't be afraid," the girl whispered as she held out her hand._

_There was a whimper from the garbage can. The girl inched closer._

"_Hey, watch out!" a teenage boy on a bicycle suddenly cried. The boy struggled to get his bike under control as it swerved toward the small girl. The girl's violet eyes widened as she watched the bike hurtle towards her, and she let out a surprised shriek._

_The biker thrust his bike to the side with all his might to avoid hitting the girl. Despite his best efforts, the bike tipped over and careened toward the girl while he was thrust in the opposite direction._

_As the bike collided with the girl, she tumbled forward into the garbage can. There was a fierce growl and the garbage can rolled slightly. Then the ear-shattering scream of a six-year-old girl in pain._

_A Poochyena leapt from the garbage can with a blood-stained piece of bread in its mouth. The hound didn't pause before scrambling into the dark alley. The girl continued to yell from the garbage can._

_The teenage boy shakily picked himself off the ground and stumbled towards the garbage can. He thrust his arms into the fallen garbage can and swept up the crying girl. The girl shrieked even louder as the teen put her on the ground. The girl was covered in grime and her arm was smeared with blood._

"_What's your name?" the teenage boy asked kindly as he scanned the area for anyone who might be able to help. It was a quiet Tuesday evening. Only a few ragged-looking beggars and one hurrying business man were currently on the street. The boy turned back to look at the girl to find she was already running down the street, still sobbing._

"_I want Mommy!" the girl cried as she turned onto another street._

_The teen looked at his watch. He was late; he couldn't afford to waste any more time getting to his job or he would be fired. The boy sighed, picked up his bike, and rode down the road. When he reached the corner, he glanced down the next road and saw the girl standing on the small porch of a run-down dwelling. With another sigh, the boy continued to pedal forward, trying to forget the girl. He succeeded before he reached work._

_The girl, in the meantime, paced the porch of the too-narrow house while trying to muffle her sobs. The raised voices on the other side of the wall made the girl afraid to enter._

"_Gav, you can't keep doing this to us! We've been here for nearly a year now and Anita's just started first grade! It's time to settle down!"_

"_Ellen, honey—"_

"_Don't you Ellen, honey me Gavin Arnold Parkwood! We talked about this. You told me this would be the last time— that you would find a steady paying job!"_

"_Ellen, look what they're offering me! We can't afford to turn it down! _This _will be our last move. We'll go to Acceber, I'll do my flashy trainer stuff to get the money, and then we'll get steady jobs."_

_There was a pause in the conversation. The girl too paused her pacing, trying to decide if it was safe to knock yet. Her arm was really starting to hurt. Soon she would have to go in even if they were still yelling. Red blood trickled down her arm onto the white porch, forever staining it._

"_Gav, you know I love you, but we can't keep doing this. Promise me this will be the last time. Promise me you'll put your trainer career on hold, at least as long as our daughter is growing up."_

"_Ellen Samuel Parkwood, I swear—"_

_There was a quiet knock on the door. The small girl had decided it was safe to enter now that the loud voices were gone._

_Ellen opened the door and gasped. "Anita! What happened to you? You said you were going around the corner to play at Kati's house! Come here, come here! Let's get you in the bath!" Ellen scooped the muck-covered girl into her arms._

"_It hurts Mommy," the little girl, Anita, said as she pointed to her arm. "It hurts more than a normal boo-boo. It hurts like eighty boo-boos."_

"_Oh my! Tell me, what happened?" Ellen anxiously repeated as she dumped Anita into the bathtub and turned on the water._

"_A doggy bit me when I fell in the trash can—Ow!" Anita exclaimed as her mother started to scrub her bleeding arm._

"_Gav, this is worse than I thought! Call the hospital! She's bleeding all over!"_

_The girl's head was dizzy. Her arm felt hotter than fire._

_Her eyes fluttered shut as confusing memories of black dogs and different towns swirled through her head…_

I opened my eyes.

"Then what?" Liam asked… almost as if he cared. He was curious, at the least.

I snickered. "The rest is obvious. I went to the hospital, and they gave me stitches. It took my arm a lot longer than they expected to heal; I still have a scar. Then we moved to Acceber. Four months after we moved to Melonbi Town my dad got another offer in Cerulean City. My mom wouldn't move. They split up. My dad still writes occasionally, but I haven't actually seen him since he left. He's a true traveling Pokemon trainer at heart… never could settle down. My mom didn't take his absence well. She refused to even look at Pokemon for months after he left, and she still has some funny quirks."

Liam nodded absentmindedly.

"So what about you?" I asked.

"What?"

"It's your turn. Tell me something about yourself."

"I already told you it was none of your business."

"That's no fair! I gave you a childhood story so you should give me one!"

Liam shrugged.

I leaned my head back against my pillow. "Ugh, why are you so secretive? Do you work for the government or something?" I glanced slyly at Liam only to find he had averted his eyes. He looked at his shoes.

"I just don't like to talk about my past," Liam answered solemnly.

"You don't have one happy memory you are willing to tell me?"

Liam didn't reply.

"What about when you got your first Pokemon?"

Liam hesitated for a moment. He finally answered, "Fine. I'll tell you. My grandpa, like me, had a dark gift. He told my parents and my cousin's parents that he would give his grandchildren their first Pokemon when we first showed signs of having the dark gift."

"What if you didn't have the gift?" I interrupted.

Liam gave me a cold look. I wasn't the least bit deterred. "I wouldn't know. I'm sure my parents would have eventually given me a Pokemon anyway." Liam seemed to look past me. "It was a Sunday evening…

_A family of three walked up a graveled path toward an old mansion. Gargoyles resembling Pokemon long deceased stared down at the family from the mansion's crumbling roof. Thick, pressing dew hung in the air. _

"_Dad, I don't want to go to Grandpa's!" a little boy whined._

"_Hush. We do this every Sunday, Liam. You can play with your cousin," the father replied._

"_But dad, Grandpa Willy's weird! He's always doing weird stuff!"_

_The father sighed and looked to his wife for help. She only raised her eyebrows and said, "It's your family."_

"_You're the one who married into it. It's not my fault I'm related, but you chose to become a part of it." The man smiled good-naturedly at his wife._

_The wife grinned. "Did I make a mistake?"_

_The man leaned towards his wife and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He paused, as if considering the value of the kiss. "I don't think so," he muttered into his wife's ear._

_The child looked away in disgust._

_The family reached the large, wooden front door. Mysterious shapes and shadows were engraved upon the grand entrance. Not bothering to knock, the father opened the door and called, "Da! We're here!"_

_The main hall the family entered was dull and simple—an empty area of wooden walls and floorboards. An elderly man with scraggly white hair and a walking cane appeared from around a dusty corner. "Come in, come in," he said. "We're just eating appetizers. Ah, Liam, my boy, come give your granda a hug!"_

_Liam wrinkled his nose at the old-person smell that filled the room. However, he complied and walked across the stiff wooden floorboards to hug his grandfather. Somewhere in the house an old clock chimed, indicating that it was six-o-clock._

"_Liam, what do you say you play with Tal a bit before dinner?" The old man patted the head of his grandchild. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a Pokeball._

_Liam looked pleadingly at his parents. When they didn't respond, he said, "But grandpa, I don't want to play with Tal. I always play with him! Can't I play with Landon instead?"_

_The grandfather chuckled. "Landon can be there too, of course. We'll all go to the other room to play." The old man gave the boy a gentle nudge toward the living room._

_The family entered a carpeted room. The brown couch facing the stone fireplace was well worn, as were the antique pictures scattered about the wooden walls. At a small table in the corner of the room sat another family of three— two adults and one boy who looked strikingly similar to Liam. On the boy's lap sat a tiny Houndour._

"_Landon!" Liam yelped when he saw his cousin._

_Landon looked up and smiled. He picked up his Houndour and ran to greet Liam._

"_Now hold on a second, boys," their grandfather said. "Liam has to play with Tal before you two can run off." The old man fingered his Pokeball and in a flash of red, an Alakazam appeared._

_Landon promptly sat down on the torn couch. Liam grumbled about Landon not having to play with Tal anymore. Three Sundays ago Tal's tricks stopped working on the lucky boy and grandpa gave him his Houndour._

"_Are you ready, Liam?" the grandfather asked._

_Liam frowned but nodded. He tried to prepare his stomach for the awful feeling._

"_Tal, use psychic," the grandfather demanded. The Alakzam's eyes grew purple in concentration. Liam closed his eyes and waited, dreading what he was to come. The feeling of toes leaving dusty, plush carpet; the feeling of helpless weightlessness; the feeling of no control…_

_The feeling never came._

_Liam opened his eyes. His mother and father were smiling proudly. The grandfather raised a hand to stop Liam from running to embrace them. He narrowed his rust-colored eyes at the boy._

"_Tal, mind reader."_

_Liam's heart sunk. He hated when Tal used that trick even more than psychic. It felt like he was being invaded, like his mind wasn't safe._

_Liam felt wisps of a presence in his mind. It was different— not as overwhelming as usual. Then the presence was gone._

_The grandfather frowned slightly. "Well, he definitely has the gift. Mind you, Tal can still delve into some of his memories so it's not as developed as Landon's, at least not yet."_

"_Dad, you know that the gift will develop as Liam develops. Testing how strong his gift is right now is pointless," Liam's uncle stated._

_The grandfather sighed. "Of course, of course. Well, as promised, I'll give Liam his first Pokemon." He patted Liam on the head and then knelt down to Liam's height. "How would you like a new friend?"_

_Liam's green eyes shone brilliantly. "Like Landon's Buster?" _

_The grandfather chuckled at the Houndour's name. "A little different." The old man shakily pulled out a Pokeball and pressed the white release button._

_An adorable dust-colored puppy appeared in front of the boy. Liam stared in amazement._

_The grandfather handed Liam the Pokeball. "This Poochyena is yours now. You can name her whatever you would like."_

_Liam looked up at his grandfather. "Does this mean I don't have to play with Tal any more?"_

_The grandfather nodded._

_Liam smiled and knelt to the scraggily Poochyena. He rubbed the pup behind her soft ears._

"_I'll call you No-Tal. Notal."_

_The Poochyena licked the boy's face._

"_It's nice to meet you too."_

"I had just turned four. My grandfather died just two weeks later."

"What about the rest of your family?"

Liam's frozen eyes felt as if they would burn through my skull. "None of your business."

I rolled my eyes and daringly questioned, "Aren't we past this 'not your business' thing?"

{I would stop asking. He looks like he might kill you,} Apple suggested. {Interesting story, though…}

Liam just continued to stare at me, sending a shiver down my spine. I looked away and muttered, "Guess not."

Suddenly the door slammed open.

Fiery woke up with a bark.

"Oops. Sorry about that," Erin said, not looking the least bit sorry.

Fiery growled at her for a moment. Then he realized Apple was curled up next to him. {What the...?} His growl immediately changed directions. {What do you think you're doing?} he demanded.

Apple yawned. {Snuggling.}

{Why I oughta…} Fiery's tail lit up and he whipped it down at Apple.

Apple casually flicked her tail forward as it too lit up. Her tail easily stopped Fiery's. She yawned again. {I know that attack now, too.}

The nurse entered the room after Erin. "Excuse me! There is not to be any fighting in the hospital!" she scolded. She turned to me. "If your Pokemon cannot behave themselves, then kindly return them to their Pokeballs."

Apple unlit her tail and closed her eyes. Fiery growled under his breath, but he too unlit his tail. He walked to the other end of the bed and settled down.

The nurse glanced down at her clipboard and then turned her attention to me. "Aside from a severely bruised ankle and several deep cuts, you are perfectly fine. You're free to leave the hospital, but your foot will have to be wrapped for the next week to prevent further injury. I'll also give you some pills for the pain." She put her clipboard down. "Let me show you how to bind your foot." She nodded to Erin. "You watch, too."

After we observed how to wrap my foot up, Erin and the nurse helped me out of bed. The nurse filled a small container of purple pills for my pain while I practiced walking. When I was finally comfortable enough to walk without a limp, the nurse dismissed us and told us to check out at the front desk within the next hour.

Erin, Liam, Fiery, Apple, and I left the room and walked toward the exit. Surprisingly, a small evil smirk danced across Erin's face. I peeked into her mind.

{Liam won't know what hit him—} was all I heard before a bellow interrupted my mindreading.

"THEY DID WHAT?"

Erin, Liam, and I all exchanged glances. We knew whose voice that was…

"WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME?"

Aden.

We rushed toward the room around the corner the voice was coming from. Aden was lying in a hospital bed… yelling at a nurse.

The nurse sighed. "This is the very reaction we were trying to prevent. Your body is not healthy yet, and we don't want you overexerting yourself. Believe me, Officer Jenny is hot on the case."

"What happened?" Erin asked curiously as she entered the room. I followed. Liam was nowhere to be found. Funny, I thought he was right behind me.

"Oh, hello there, you two. I was just discussing why nobody bothered to tell me my city was robbed yesterday."

{Discussing? Yeah right… more like bellowing,} Apple commented.

"What was taken?" I asked.

"Most of the new exhibit on Mew at our city's museum along with a couple of rare gem stones. It was Team Glop'emm; we caught their uniforms on tape though their faces were covered," the nurse explained, exasperated. "By the way, visiting hours are three to six; you aren't even supposed to be here."

Aden ignored the nurse and continued, "Team Glop'emm has been fairly active in this city within the past year. I think they might have a base here. If I were allowed out of this dratted bed I would be hunting them down—"

"I already told you not to worry, sir. Officer Jenny can handle it. Now if you two will kindly leave…" The nurse pushed us out the doorway. I waved to Aden who grinned at me.

"You have a pretty fierce Flareon!" he called. "Did a real number on me, that one! Take care and good luck, Anita! Oh, and your friend, Erin, has your badge!"

"Out," the nurse ordered. She pointed down the hall to exit.

We scurried down the hall until the nurse stopped glaring after us and turned down a different corridor. Erin suddenly pulled me to a small niche and looked around suspiciously.

"What are you doing? Do you think—" I started.

Erin shushed me and said, "I need you to find Liam and then go to the northern outskirts of Tinted Town. I'll meet you there. This is yours." Erin handed me a golden-red badge in the shape of a small flame. "It's called the Blaze Badge. Now see ya!" Erin started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"A few errands…"

"Does this have to do with finding those robbers? I want to come, too!"

Erin gave me a funny look. "No, of course not. You should leave Team Glop'emm to Officer Jenny—its best not to get involved. I'm going to be getting back at Liam… Now don't say a word to him!" Erin hissed. She then glanced down the hall and was gone in an instant.

I blinked. {Where do you think Liam went?} I asked Fiery and Apple.

Fiery sniffed the air and sneezed. He trotted down the hall towards the exit and sniffed again. Apple and I followed as he veered to the right just before the door leading to the check out counter. He stopped in front of a door.

{Figures,} Apple snickered. {Bathroom.}

Just then Liam walked out of the bathroom.

"Why didn't you tell us where you were going?" I asked accusingly.

"What, now I have to ask every time I need to take a dump?" Liam retorted.

I folded my arms and started walking to the door to the checkout counter.

"Where's Erin?"

"She had some 'errands' to do," I answered. "She said she'd meet up with us in the northern outskirts of the town. Humph…" I paused just before the door, a new plan formulating. "Hey, do you want to see if we can help look for the Glop'emm robbers?"

{Anita, I don't think that's a good idea—} Apple started.

"Why would you want to do that?" Liam scoffed. "You think you're going to be able to do a better job than Officer Jenny?"

"Well, I can use my gift—"

{No,} Apple cut me off. {Anita, you're already hurt. The robbers have nothing to do with you! It's just plain stupid to get involved. Do you want Team Glop'emm hunting you down? And what if they discover something about me?}

Apple had pulled the putting-your-Pokemon-in-danger card. How evil… but she was right, unfortunately.

{Since when do you care so much about who knows about you? You would transform back into Mew right here if I weren't around.}

Apple smirked. {That's right—I don't care, but _you_ do. So you won't put me in danger.}

I grinded my teeth, annoyed.

"What did she say?" Liam asked.

"She agrees with you," I muttered.

"Good. Then you're overruled." Liam held the door open for me. He was looking rather pleased with himself for no apparent reason.

{I hope Erin gets him really good,} I growled to Apple. {Wipe that stupid smirk off his face…}

{Oh, believe me, she will. Didn't you read her mind?}

{No.}

Apple grinned. {Just you wait. The fun is about to begin.}


	17. Erin's Revenge

Chapter 15: Erin's Revenge

Pop.

Ring.

Scratch.

Shuffle, shuffle.

Pop.

Ring.

Pop.

Ah, the sounds of a secretary's workspace.

The shuffling of the carelessly turned magazine page. The scratching of butt, numb with overuse. The ringing of the ignored phone.

And, of course, the eternal popping of overchewed gum.

The girl at the hospital checkout counter was no exception. She sat in a well-worn chair reading a popular _Persons_ magazine and chewing a large wad of pink bubble gum. Her dark hair was tossed in a sloppy bun with bits falling freely over her lightly freckled face. As we approached the counter, she looked up from her magazine. Her eyes, covered with a thick layer of mascara, flickered from me to Liam before blatantly returning to the magazine.

I waited in front of the counter for about half a minute before giving the girl a weak, "Ahem."

The girl made a big fuss of smoothly folding her magazine and placing it on the counter before turning her attention to us. "What do you want?"

"I'm checking out."

The girl blew and popped another bubble. "Name?"

"Anita Parkwood."

The girl rolled her chair to a computer and began typing. The phone rang.

Probably attempting to prolong our time wasted at the counter, the girl decided to actually answer the phone. I sighed wearily and listened to Liam mutter curses at the girl under his breath.

The girl unemotionally stared at me as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. Her eyes flickered to Liam for a minute. I got the feeling whoever was on the other line was speaking about us.

After a minute the girl put the phone down and continued typing. "Anita Parkwood, you're good," she stated simply. Then she turned to Liam, who had begun to turn away. "You— kid with the messy black hair." Liam turned around. "You're on bathroom duty."

Liam took about ten seconds to process what she had just said. "What did you say?" he asked darkly, giving her his cold stare.

"You heard me, kid: bathroom duty."

"And why exactly, may I ask, would I be put on _bathroom duty_?" Liam questioned scathingly. "Do I look like I work here?"

The girl picked up her magazine and leafed through it. "Don't know what you look like, kid."

"You didn't answer me," Liam growled.

"You're on bathroom duty cuz my manager said you were on bathroom duty. Just got the phone call that some dark-haired kid with green eyes clogged up the toilet and that if the kid came to my desk, I was to tell him to get his scrawny butt in the bathroom to unclog the toilet."

"I didn't clog the toilet, though!" Liam exclaimed. I looked at him in surprise— this was the most emotion I had ever seen him show… and over a toilet, nonetheless.

The girl shrugged and blew another bubble.

I grinned at Liam, who shot me an angry glare in response. {This is too awesome,} I told Apple and Fiery.

"Can I speak with your manager?" Liam asked, his voice surprisingly calm.

"Nope."

"Don't you have janitors in your facility?"

"Yup."

"Then why doesn't one of them clean the toilet?"

"Don't know."

"Can I please talk to your manager?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Don't feel like picking up the phone. I'm too busy."

"I didn't clog the toilet."

"Not my problem."

"That's it." Liam angrily started to reach for the phone.

"I'll call security," the girl threatened.

"Fine. I'm not going to deal with this; I'm leaving." Liam started to turn away.

The girl turned the page of her magazine. "Security will just drag you back. They've also been notified that you are to clean the clogged toilet."

Liam froze. He turned back to the girl. "Give me the phone," he said slowly.

"Or what?" the girl snickered.

"I'll…" Liam glared. Apparently he couldn't come up with a good threat.

"I suggest you run along to the bathroom now. The toilet is not going to clean itself."

Liam shoved a stack of fliers sitting on the counter at the girl. Instead of flying everywhere, they mostly stuck together and landed in a pile on the floor. Liam stormed off towards the bathroom. I sat down in a waiting chair and when I glanced at the girl I swear I saw a small smirk flicker across her face. I shook my head and looked at the girl again. She sat unemotionally, looking bored. I must be imagining things…

Fiery hopped onto the chair next to me and started to curl up. Then Apple hopped onto the same chair. {Get off!} Fiery exclaimed as he shoved Apple off the chair. {Haven't you heard of personal space?}

{Personal space only applies to a person!} Apple retorted.

{Fine, haven't you heard of Eevee space?}

{Nope, but there was a movie called _Eevees in Space_ that came out a few years ago. Plus, wouldn't it be Eeveeal space?} Apple giggled. {Hehe. Eeveeal sounds kinda like Ovule.}

{Save me!} Fiery jumped onto my lap and nudged his Pokeball attached to my belt. He disappeared in a flash of red.

While Apple was still giggling quietly, I closed my eyes, deciding to put this time to good use by meditating.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Idiot!" I hissed through the walkie-talkie.

The moron, my assistant, did not reply. He did not even attempt to justify his own stupidity.

"Did I not specifically order you to stay away from Anita Parkwood? Did I not insist that you leave all of the research on Pokemon X to me? Were these demands too difficult for your midget-sized head to understand?"

There was no reply, again.

"Answer me," I commanded coldly.

"No, Master."

"Then why is it all over the news that Team Glop'emm broke into a museum in Tinted Town? Why did my detective just call me to inform me that Team Glop'emm struck _while_ Anita Parkwood was in Tinted Town? And most importantly, why did you feel the need to steal the information on Pokemon X displayed in the museum?"

My assistant hesitated before speaking. "I was trying to help you, sir. I thought more information on Pokemon X would be useful to you. As for Anita Parkwood, I did not realize you wanted all of our normal operations to shut down if she was within twenty miles."

"You shithead. The information was _open to the public_. My detective called me a few days ago to supply me with the information on display. There was no need for you to steal it! Now there is a chance that the authorities will get suspicious. They might figure out that I am aft—we are after Pokemon X!"

"I apologize. It will not happen again," my assistant said lamely.

"No it will not. G-ddamn you. One more act of stupidity and I'll figure out a way to complete my research from Drape Town. Stay away from Anita Parkwood. Stay away from anything that has to do with Pokemon X. Understand?"

"Yes, Master."

I shut off the connection. That fool; it was a mistake to leave him in charge. To steal something that was open to the public… how brainless. If only my research was complete, I could return to Drape Town to resume my command over Team Glop'emm. Unfortunately, I was not even close to finished.

The various libraries and ancient book stores I had visited thus far provided me with little to no new information. I had found virtually nothing about Mew transforming into other Pokemon.

I sighed and stared at the bare wall—a habit of mine. At least I was getting results from the tests Rita and I had arranged.

Mew… such a peculiar Pokemon.

I stared ahead and recalled the first time I had seen the creature…

_A boy and his father stood before the docking railway. A salty breeze swept over them as they silently observed the massive ship they were about to board. Small waves lapped against the side of the boat splashing upward to nearly where the boy and his father stood._

"_Vel, wait! Vel! Velkan!" A voice called. The father turned at the sound of his name and peered past the dock to the street. His eyes settled upon a man rushing toward the dock. "You forgot the picture! You forgot it!" the man yelled. The man had a black mustache and hazel determined eyes. _

_The father and the boy watched as the man rushed towards them. When the man finally reached the two, he had to bend over to catch his breath._

_Velkan frowned at the man. "Don, my brother…" he muttered under his breath. For a moment, he looked upon his brother spitefully, as if the man had done something terribly wrong. The father quickly recovered a calm expression._

"_The—picture—here—" Don panted. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small, framed picture the size of his hand and handed the picture to Velkan._

_The father's frown deepened. He and the boy stared at the picture._

_Six smiling faces stared back._

_Two dead. _

_One missing._

_Two running. _

_One hoping._

_What a family._

_Tears welled in the boy's eyes as the father pocketed the photo._

"_Are you sure about this?" Don asked, looking sadly beyond his relatives to the grand ship._

_Velkan, the father, nodded absentmindedly. "We need a new start. It's been over a year and a half. We've waited long enough," he replied grimly. "You're sure you don't wish to join us?"_

_Don sighed. "I'll keep waiting."_

_The ship's horn sounded._

_The father glanced at the ship and then nodded to his bother. "Arceus be with you."_

"_Arceus be with my son."_

_Velkan winced. "I hope so." He grabbed his own son's hand._

_The ship's horn sounded again._

_The boy and his father turned and walked up the rusted docking railway. Wingulls cooed atop the ship as they boarded._

_The boy watched his uncle leave stoically._

_The ship began to move._

_The boy looked up._

_A glint of pink streaked the sky—disappearing towards the future._

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

After thirty minutes, Liam finally stalked out of the bathroom carrying a wet toilet plunger. He strode towards the checkout counter and placed the toilet plunger plunger-side up in front of the secretary. He then swiveled around and marched out the front doors.

I could hear the distinct sound of bubblegum popping as I jogged after Liam.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

"Please?" Anita whined for the millionth time.

"No!" {No!} Liam and I chorused.

"But it's right around the corner! Can't we just check it out… Maybe try to figure out what Team Glop'emm is doing…"

I rolled my eyes. This had been our discussion since after lunch. We were now walking down the old, brick roads of Tinted Town. The town was fairly small with lots of adorable stores and great restaurants. Many of the shops looked old and worn, but not quite run-down; it actually gave the town a comfortable feel.

Liam sighed. "What they are after is always the same. They're pretty forthright with their goals. Don't you know what Glop'emm stands for?"

"No."

"G-L-O-P-'E-M-M. Get Lots Of Pokemon 'En Make Money. Glop'emm."

"I never knew it was an acronym…" Anita trailed.

{Me neither,} I piped.

"…How'd you find out?"

Liam shrugged and snickered. "I hear things," I heard the boy mumble sarcastically under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Never mind."

I looked up at Liam's expression curiously, only to find his face was blank with his usual stoicism. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes. I got bored so I began weaving between the legs of people walking in the opposite direction for fun…

…until I tripped a bulky, mean-looking man. After the man started swearing profusely at us and threatened to beat up Liam (Anita and I laughed our butts off when he blamed Liam for being tripped), Anita decided it would be better if she carried me.

I was sulking in Anita's arms when Liam randomly asked, "Why don't you talk to your mother?"

Anita and I stared. {Whoa. Did he actually initiate a conversation? Something's up,} I said suspiciously.

{Something's always up when it comes to Liam,} Anita retorted.

Liam's eyes flickered between me and Anita. "You know it is slightly disturbing when both of you stare at me with violet… or almost violet eyes," he commented dryly.

Anita smirked. "We're just surprised you are actually trying to be social."

"I'm not trying to be social."

"Then why start a conversation?"

"Will you just answer my question?" Liam asked irritably.

Anita shrugged.

I knew she did not really feel like explaining her mother's intense dislike for Pokemon. Anita loved her mother, but her mother would not want to know or talk about her journey very much. Anita had only called once thus far—the day before we met Liam, just to check up.

{He does have a bit of a valid point. I mean, you were in the hospital. Shouldn't you tell her?}

{She'll just want me to come home, and I don't want to. The less she knows, the better,} Anita replied to me. She still didn't say anything to Liam, pretty much just to annoy him.

"What kind of answer is that?" Liam narrowed his eyes at Anita accusingly.

Anita snorted. "The kind you always give me."

"Why don't you want to discuss your mother?"

"Well, that is _none of your business_," Anita mocked.

"I'll bet she's fictional."

Anita looked at him weirdly. "Um… that's not really possible."

"Sure it is," Liam replied cheerfully. He looked at Anita slyly and added, "I'm onto your secret." It was a bit awkward because I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic.

Anita chuckled nervously. {Is he joking or just plain insane?}

{It's hard to tell.} How I wished I could peek into his mind. But alas, Liam was one strange cookie…

Speaking of cookies…

I sniffed the air. {Bakery!} I yelled to Anita. {Two blocks straight ahead, half a block to the right! Huge chocolate chip cookies with—}

{Hush up. We are not going to a bakery. We just ate!}

I suddenly stopped, sensing a large crowd directly down the street on my right. A sudden premonition of excitement and revenge flashed through my mind. It involved flying hot dogs.

At that point, of course, I had no option but to leap out of Anita's arms and sprint full speed down the road on my right.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Apple! Wait up!" I called to the crazed Eevee.

I grabbed Liam's hand and started to run after her. "C'mon!"

Liam jerked his hand back to fold his arms across his chest. He continued to walk at a leisurely pace. I scowled at him and took off after Apple.

When Apple reached the large crowd of people, she stopped running and slipped through their legs. Seconds later, I reached the crowd. {Apple!} I called out to her. She didn't answer.

I skimmed the crowd to find a space I could slip through to reach the front, but failed to find anything. Liam finally arrived at the scene and stood beside me. I grumbled and started shoving people aside. "Excuse me! Sorry! Was that your foot? Whoops. Hey, don't you dare flick me off…" ensued for five minutes until I managed to spot a fluffy brown and white tail in the very front of the hoard of people.

{Apple!} I exclaimed when I finally pushed my way to the front next to Apple.

Apple looked up at me, grinning. {Hey, Anita. What's up?}

I started to scold her. {Why in the world you run off like that? You could have—}

{Just watch the show,} Apple interrupted.

Startled, I looked at the scene in front of me, the scene that the crowd was gathered around. A girl with brown eyes and curly brown hair in a colorful dress was juggling flaming torches. Behind her was a clear tub of water about the size of a queen-sized bed. Above the water was a tightrope, some twenty feet in the air. A ladder led up to a platform on both sides of the tightrope, and beside the ladder closest to the girl was a small table. A Kirlia stood watching the girl with brown hair while leaning against the tub of water. In the tub of water, there was a Wooper swimming.

Someone jostled me and I was shoved to the right. "Hey! Watch it!" I yelped. I turned to apologize to whoever I had bumped into only to find myself looking at the cold, green eyes of Liam. "Err… Sorry," I said awkwardly before returning my attention to the street show.

The girl had put down the flaming torches and was now announcing: "For this next act I'm going to need a volunteer!" The girl skimmed the crowd. "You, in the front! With the dark hair and polo shirt!" The girl pointed at Liam. "Yes, you. Come here!"

Liam frowned, but stepped forward carefully. The crowd whooped.

The girl nodded to Kirlia, and the Pokemon began climbing a ladder up to the tightrope. The girl whispered something to Liam and then shoved him in the direction of the other ladder on the opposite side of the tub of water. Liam eyed the tub of water and then folded his arms in a refusing manner. The crowd booed. Someone cried out "Chicken! C'mon, get up there!" Flung from somewhere in the crowd, a red tomato soared through the air and hit Liam square in the head.

Liam's eyes flashed angrily. He shook his head, causing tomato bits to fly everywhere, and he began climbing the ladder.

In the meantime, the Kirlia was dancing about the tightrope. She (at least, I thought the Kirlia was a female) did a few flips and maintained perfect balance. The girl with curly hair, who was apparently the hostess of this street show, signaled the Kirlia with her arms. She then bent under the table and pulled out three brown objects.

I squinted at the objects.

Hotdogs.

Of course.

I looked down and found Apple drooling. Strangely enough, she stayed put and did not tackle the girl to the ground as expected. I would have asked her why if not for fear of giving her ideas…

The girl tossed the hotdogs up to the Kirlia, who promptly began to juggle them on the tightrope. She performed several tricks, juggling the hotdogs behind her and even while jumping. Then the Kirlia threw one hotdog to the Wooper, one to Liam, and one into the crowd.

The Wooper jumped into the air and gobbled the first hotdog before returning to the water with a flip. Liam, now on a platform, caught his hotdog with his mouth, but spit it out in disgust. The hotdog fell towards the water and the Wooper devoured his hotdog as well.

As for the hotdog thrown into the crowd…

{Mine!} Apple yelled with a determined look in her eyes. She pounced into my arms.

Using my body as a springboard, Apple leapt into the air.

Of course, she snatched that third hotdog out of the air and landed safely in front of the cheering crowd.

And, of course, I tumbled back into some guy with a Mohawk and tattoos, meekly muttering "I'm sorry."

After a round of applause, Apple returned to my side, grinning wider than that fat cat from _Alice in Wonderland_. The hostess held up a hand to halt the applause.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, our final act. Our kind volunteer will jump into the arms of Kirlia!"

The Kirlia, still balanced on the tightrope, motioned for Liam to jump from the platform to her. Liam looked down for a moment at the water. He closed his eyes, squatted, and then jumped towards the Kirlia. The crowd was silent as Liam landed on Kirlia's arms and Kirlia began to raise Liam over her head…

Kirlia wobbled.

The girl with brown, curly hair frowned.

Suddenly, Liam was tumbling towards the water.

As soon as Liam left the Kirlia's arms, the Pokemon managed to regain balance. She seemed slightly upset.

A water geyser rose from the tub and stopped Liam's fall. The crowd broke into applause, believing this was all part of the show. I was not so sure.

The Wooper slowly lowered its watergun to bring Liam safely to the pool.

Apple was still smiling giddily. {Aren't you glad I dragged you to the show?}

I chuckled. {Well, I did get to see Liam get soaked. I guess so. Was it just me though, or did the Kirlia mess up and drop Liam?}

{Well, duh,} Apple responded. I looked at her in surprise. {Kirlia balance like that using their psychic powers. The moment Liam touched Kirlia, her psychic powers were cancelled. Thus, she couldn't maintain balance. She also tried to stop Liam from falling with her psychic, which obviously wouldn't work either.}

{You knew all of this, but didn't stop Liam from going up there?}

Apple shrugged. {Hey, there was water beneath him. And I knew he wasn't going to die or anything… I had a vision beforehand…}

{People with the dark gift can show up in psychic visions?} I asked curiously.

{Not exactly. He was kind of omitted from the vision… but I knew he had to be there because you were there. No one was upset in the vision so I knew nobody would die and nothing bad would happen…}

"Ahem."

I looked up to find Liam standing in front of me, thoroughly soaked. His wet black hair was unusually disheveled, falling into his face. Good thing it was currently sunny and about seventy-five degrees or he would be freezing. I smiled sweetly at him. "Hey, Liam," I said casually.

Liam walked past me and stalked through the dispersing crowd. Several people were walking the other direction to give the girl with curly hair compliments and tips.

I smirked after Liam. {I suppose we should follow him,} I mentioned off-handedly.

{We could leave him,} Apple suggested.

{Yeah, but then I wouldn't be able to make fun of him. There'd be no fun in that.}

{I suppose you're right. Let's go!}

We happily trotted after the angry, wet boy.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Wait till Erin hears about your performance!" Anita cackled.

I rolled my eyes at the irritating girl. This was the girl I was investigating. The girl believed to be a powerful, legendary Pokemon.

The girl was suspicious in a hundred different ways. Her powers, her background, her mother…

Even her naïve, bipolar, annoying personality. Well, that's how Mew was rumored to be, anyway.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to relax. Today had been rough.

We stood outside an ice cream shop on the northern outskirts of Tinted Town. Supposedly, Erin had said she would meet us around here. Supposedly.

I shuddered slightly at the cool air; I was still damp, unfortunately. That obnoxious, curly-headed brunette was lucky I was on a mission and lacked time to avenge my embarrassment.

"Well, I'm going to go get ice cream! Want some?" Anita asked me cheerfully. For some reason, today she had been unusually happy. Maybe it had something to do with me having a g-d-awful day.

"No," I flatly refused.

Anita shrugged and skipped into the shop, closely followed by her Eevee.

I sighed and leaned against a brick wall of a closed clothing store. I silently watched people wander up and down the street.

An attractive girl with long straight black hair caught my eye. She was wearing four inch heels and a skimpy black dress that hugged her body and ended just above her knees. She had long legs. It took me approximately two and a half seconds to realize those long legs were walking towards me.

My eyes were naturally lured to her chest where there was a tad too much cleavage showing. I couldn't help staring for a moment. Hey, I'm a guy.

I closed my eyes. Now was not the time to be distracted by women, I tried to remind myself.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring down the girl's top. Yeah, she was that close. Heat rose to my face and I quickly looked up.

Up close, I could see the girl had dark eyes, surrounded by dark eye shadow.

"Hey, there," the girl said silkily.

I gulped and flattened myself against the wall.

I had an urge to shove her away and stalk off. She had no business doing this to me! On the other hand, if she wanted to…

The girl moved forward. My mind blanked. "I just happened to see a fine man standing here all lonely and handsome, and I thought: It's my lucky day," the girl murmured. Her breath was minty and calm. Mine was sour and fast.

The girl put one hand on my shirt and one hand on the wall behind me.

My pants tightened. Shit.

The girl leaned in, her lips hovering over mine.

I closed my eyes. I could feel her warm breath on my nose.

"Gotcha," she whispered.

The girl twirled away from me and began screeching madly with laugher. Stunned, I slowly slid down the wall, urging myself to breathe.

The girl pulled off a wig to reveal reddish-golden hair.

Double shit.

Erin.

I heard another squeal of laughter. I looked up and saw Anita had joined Erin. I put my head between my knees in shame.

"Erin, is that really you? That was amazing!" Anita squeaked.

I peeked up. Even Anita's Eevee was grinning.

Erin readjusted her dress so it wasn't so… slutty.

She strutted over to me, eyes glinting with laugher. "So, did you have an enjoyable day?"

I snickered.

"What, is poor wittle-Wiam tired of awl Erin's tricks?" Erin said in a baby-voice. I nearly gagged. Her voice returned to normal. "What, didn't enjoy cleaning a toilet? How about plunging into water?"

I looked up at her. How did she… awe, f—

"You… it… you…" I stuttered.

Behind Erin, Anita looked confused. Erin smirked. "You know, it's amazing what you can do with a wig and a bit of make-up. The bonus was I got to use this hair twice! Once for the check-out desk girl and once for this one!"

"Just wonderful…" I muttered darkly.

"Wait. So you were the check-out girl?" Anita started. Erin opened her mouth to reply, but Anita continued before she could say anything. "And the street show girl?"

Erin nodded.

Anita whirled around. "And you knew!" she barked at Apple.

The Eevee shrugged.

Erin held out her hand to help me up. I took it. "So, do you still think I'm shallow?"

Yup, I wanted to say. You're even shallower than I originally believed because you went this berserk over what a person thinks of you.

Unfortunately, that answer would have probably earned me another horrible day.

So instead, I gave her my second best answer. "Nope. You're not shallow." Erin grinned at me. Then I added, "But you are a bitch."

Anita chuckled. Erin scowled at her and gave her a death glare.

Anita ignored her and continued to smile. "What? You are."


	18. Rock & Roll Disaster

Chapter 16: Rock & Roll Disaster

My eyes skimmed over the file.

_Marcus Ingblot_

_Age: 19_

_Join Date: 1/7/12_

_Pokemon: Gloom, Pelipper, Hippowdon_

_Characteristics: Not Recorded_

_Successes: Stolen Pikachu from Orquid City, Orquid City kidnapping/hostage squad _

_Failures: Smith hostage incident_

I sighed and pushed the file aside. Just another inferior Glop'emm grunt. Scratch that—another _corruptible_, inferior Glop'emm grunt.

The thought brought a smile to my lips.

If only the Master knew… I would love to see the look of fury upon his face, his cool calculating eyes finally out of control, filled with anger.

My smile widened as I recalled the Master's little tantrum yesterday. It was the first time in over two years I had witnessed the boy lose his temper.

It was wonderful. Not only had I obtained information about Pokemon X the Master wished to keep hidden from me, but I had caused an unexpected outburst.

His anger sang of sweet victory.

My victory.

And if he knew of my little scheme…

His helpless anger would be enough to make my eyes prick with tears of joy.

But alas, he could not know of my ploy yet. For at this moment, his anger would not be so helpless.

And that is what I planned to change.

I pressed the buzzer. "Marcus Ingblot, please enter."

I folded my hands atop my desk and silently went over the planned bribe as I waited. Marcus was number seventeen.

Seventeenth of over one thousand Team Glop'emm members.

Seventeenth in my plan to take over Team Glop'emm.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"But Carly, I don't want to go shopping," Reece whined playfully.

Idiot.

"Ugh, I don't want to go shopping with _you_ either. But we have to find something to wear that will proficiently hide these cameras," I retorted. Shopping with Reece was like shopping with a rock. He was unresponsive to every outfit I tried on, usually muttering how "it would look better off on my bedroom floor," and he had to be practically dragged by the ear from shop to shop. In fact, shopping with a rock would be easier because at least rocks didn't argue.

"Yeah, yeah. The cameras he sent to us with our new Pokemon. I don't get why he wants us to wear them when we meet Anita. Is he checking her out or something?"

I rolled my eyes as I pulled him into a scarf shop.

"Seriously, why does he want us to wear the cameras?"

"I don't know," I answered coldly as I tried on a vermillion scarf. Maybe if I folded the scarf like this, the camera could rest hidden just beneath my shoulder… "How's this look?" I asked. I found a mirror and examined my beauty, highlighted by the scarf.

Reece shrugged.

I frowned at him and stomped off to the register.

Walking outside again, Reece said, "We need a plan or something. You know, to make it not obvious that we were supposed to find and talk to Anita and her friends."

"Alright then, do something useful and come up with an idea while I find you something to wear," I snapped. I peered into a store window and examined the different collar styles for men. I wished we were in Zahavah or even Azul City, where there were thousands of stylish shops. Here in Nelcorn City, my choices were pretty limited. A tawny shirt with a flared collar would emphasize Reece's eyes, I mused silently. Not that I could probably find that around here…

Reece was silent for a minute and followed me into the store.

"How about a party?"

I had been eyeing a navy zip-up jacket. I turned to Reece. "What?"

"A party?" Reece asked again. His voice went a bit high, like he was scared of me or something. Whatever.

I smiled. "I do love parties."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I took a step. "Ouch," I complained.

I took another step. "Ouch," I complained again.

Unfortunately, my complaints were ignored. All two hundred and thirteen of them, thus far.

We were currently walking on a rocky hill next to Mint Mountain, or so Liam told me. After I had led the group in a wide circle earlier this morning, nobody would let me hold the map. In fact, since I had led the group astray, nobody had spoken more than two words to me.

And those two words had been uttered by Fiery an hour ago after my forty-third complaint.

They were: {Shut up!}

Erin and Liam had been arguing for the past half an hour. Something about whether albino Sneasel actually existed… In the meantime, most of my and Erin's Pokemon had been let out of their Pokeballs for exercise (and because it would be hard to cause excessive trouble on a rocky hill in the middle of nowhere). Erin's Taillow, Tweal, was happily doing air tricks above us. Allo, Sunflower, and Vanilla were taking turns riding on Griffy's back. Vanilla kept trying to take longer turns so her fur wouldn't get covered in the dusty dirt that covered the hill. Apple and Splash were attempting to jump from boulder to boulder without touching the ground. They were taking the game very seriously; once, Apple had jumped onto Liam's head to avoid making contact with the ground. Liam had thrown me several dirty looks while I snickered at his well-ruffled hair after the episode. Fiery, of course, was muttering to himself and keeping a watchful eye on his younger siblings. Erin kept Wella in her Pokeball because there was no water and Wella would not be able to keep up waddling.

Thus, I was left to complain about my aching body while nobody listened.

Early this morning, Liam had woken me up to practice fighting. When I laughed at him, he aimed a kick at my stomach. _That _got me moving. Now, not only did one leg hurt from the Flareon bite, but both legs (and actually, my whole body) hurt from this morning's practice.

Remind me why I was traveling with these wackos?

I couldn't even make the time go faster by riding my bike. This area was way too rocky.

Bored, I watched Apple jump on top of a particularly large boulder. A slightly evil idea flickered across my mind… so I immediately implemented it.

I took a small breath and then rapidly shoved my mind in front of Apple just as she was about to jump to another rock. Apple ran into my barrier and fell back onto the boulder.

I chuckled.

Apple glared at me, and suddenly something caught my foot.

I didn't have to look down to know Apple had tripped me using her psychic powers. Reaching out with my mind again, I felt something strange. There were multiple minds near Apple, though I could see no other people or Pokemon near the Eevee besides Splash.

Curious, I entered one of the unexplained minds. Immediately I was bombarded with anger. The mind opened its eyes and spotted Apple jumping onto another rock. It was watching Apple with fury from a low angle, as if it was a boulder…

I snapped back to my body and peered behind Apple.

The large boulder had eyes. Angry eyes. In fact, the large boulder and several smaller rocks had angry eyes.

Geodudes and a Graveler.

"Uh… guys?"

Nobody even bothered to glance at me.

{Guys!} I yelled in everyone's (except Liam's) minds. Everyone turned to me. Oh, now they pay attention.

I nodded to the angry rocks with eyes behind me.

{Cool!} Splash yelped as he started leaping towards the large Graveler. I immediately returned him to his Pokeball, and then as a second thought returned the other three younger Eevees. Erin also returned Tweal.

The rock Pokemon stared at us and grunted angrily.

"Let's try to back away slowly," I muttered. "I'm going to see if I can figure out why they're upset." I entered the large Graveler's mind and tentatively asked, {Hello?}

Anger was slowly flooding the Pokemon's mind. Images flashed through his head—of us entering his territory, waking him from his nap, and someone currently invading his mind…

Hehe, my bad.

I was about to try explaining how we didn't know, when the world started spinning.

Literally.

Ground-sky-ground-

Aw, crap.

The Graveler was rolling towards us. Quickly returning to my own body, I ordered, "Fiery, iron tail!"

Fiery leapt into action and twirled his bright tail at the Graveler.

Unfortunately, because the Graveler was spinning, the attack did barely any damage…

….and the Graveler kept rolling towards us…

…and Fiery had been flattened like a pancake….

…and the Geodudes and Graveler became even more upset because we attacked…

…and this was generally a really bad situation, thus deserving a run-on sentence.

"Anita, that was very stupid," Liam commented dryly.

"Ya think?" I growled. I mustered as much of my psychic energy as I could and thrust it in front of the Graveler. I felt Griffy add some of his power as well.

The Graveler hit the psychic barrier with a large crash. The barrier shuddered but held against the rock Pokemon.

Quickly, I returned the knocked-out Fiery to his Pokeball.

The Geodudes' grunts turned into a sort of chant, and the large Graveler that had hit the barrier pulled his fist back. It began to glow.

I scrambled backward to where Erin, Liam, and Erin's Pokemon were attempting to back away slowly. When Erin spotted the Graveler's glowing fist, she blanched.

"He's using brick breaker," Liam said nonchalantly.

"What does—" I started.

The Graveler threw his fist into the psychic wall. It shattered.

"Oh…" I trailed. Internally, I yelled to Apple, {Do something!}

{Ixney on the owerspey! Griffy would be able to sense it was me using psychic powers if I used them to build a barrier or psychic…}

{Okay, okay! Hey, how did you not know you were jumping on Geodudes, not rocks? _I _sensed it.}

{Oh, I knew. That's what made the game so fun!}

{Apple, your stupid game might get us killed!}

{Hey, you're the one who created the barrier that disrupted the Graveler's sleep. I fail to see how any of that is my fault—}

"Um, now would be a good time to run," Erin pointed out, interrupting our argument. Right. There were angry Geodudes in a semi-circle around us. Just in front of the Geodudes, a Graveler grunted loudly and stomped his arms against the ground.

We took Erin's suggestion.

Several seconds later, I heard what sounded like an avalanche of rock Pokemon tumbling after us.

I gasped as a sharp pain shot up my wrapped foot, causing me to stumble. I tried to continue forward with a one-legged skip; my wrapped foot just wouldn't move fast enough.

Erin noticed. "Griffy, pick up Anita!"

Something knocked under my legs, and suddenly I was on Griffy's back.

{Thanks,} I told the Girafarig.

{It is no problem, Miss,} Griffy replied while his tail declared, {The cloud of doom will not rain on your feet.}

I glanced back and saw the Geodudes and Graveler were still in hot pursuit. We were going downhill and despite our small head start, they were gaining on us.

Erin yelled something to me, but I couldn't hear her over the rumble of rolling rock Pokemon.

{Erin,} I said to Erin and Griffy. For once, the girl did not start freaking out because I was speaking telepathically. {Can Griffy carry all three of us and Apple?}

I felt Erin bite her lip. {It's pushing it, but I suppose it's worth a shot.}

{How about it, Griffy?}

{I can handle it, Miss.}

Apple, who had been running beside Griffy, jumped into my lap.

Griffy cantered over to Liam.

After taking a quick look behind us, Liam hopped onto Griffy in one swift motion.

He scooted closer to me to make room for Erin, who was soon also on Griffy's rump attempting to prevent Griffy's tail from biting her.

There was so little room that Liam had to wrap his arms around my waist and Erin had to wrap her arms around his waist to keep from falling off. Awkward much?

Now that we were all aboard, Griffy broke into a gallop. "Alright, Griffy, use agility!" Erin called over the loud rumble of the rocks.

Griffy put his head down and prepared to surge forward…

But he never did.

"Griffy, I said use agility!" Erin yelled in a panic. Griffy looked like he was struggling and failing to use the attack.

I tried to contact Griffy telepathically, but found that I could not.

Two and two clicked. Aw, shit, I knew what was happening.

I turned to Liam. "You suck, you know that?"

Liam gave me his distinct, all-too-familiar frown.

"Anita, this is not the time to be insulting—" Erin scolded.

"Liam's dark gift is preventing our psychic powers from working. Griffy can't use agility because Liam is touching him," I explained.

"Liam, you do suck," Erin agreed.

We all looked behind us. The Geodudes were only about ten yards from Griffy's tail. They were still gaining because we couldn't pick up speed. From Griffy's heavy breathing I could tell he was already getting tired.

"Now what?" Erin asked helplessly.

"I vote we chuck Liam off."

Erin kicked me.

"Fine. You could pull out Wella and spray water at them," I suggested.

"Right. Because one Wooper would hold off all thirty or so rock Pokemon trying to squash us," Erin replied sarcastically.

Liam sighed and pulled out a Pokeball.

A giant Pokemon appeared in a red beam. Sand began to whip around the area, limiting my sight, but not before I got a good look at the Pokemon that Liam had released.

It made my jaw drop.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Tyranitar, keep up that sandstorm and follow with an iron tail."

Sand now flooded the air. I couldn't see more than two feet ahead of me. Then again, neither could the Geodudes and Graveler.

While Fiery's iron tail did very little damage, the Tyranitar's tail was big and strong enough to send several Geodudes and the Graveler flying.

Or at least that's what it sounded like from the loud CRACK followed by several thumps.

Less than a minute later, Liam returned his Tyranitar. The sandstorm, however, remained for several minutes as Griffy galloped forward.

"How—you—Pokemon—" I stuttered.

Liam snickered, "Told you you'd lose if you battled me."

I angrily elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to be shoved backwards into Erin. Erin yelped in response and was pushed towards Griffy's tail. Consequently, Griffy's tail took the opportunity to bite into Erin's shirt and tug her off of Griffy. Of course, chaos ensued, not helped by the dying sandstorm.

"What was that about?" Erin demanded of Liam once we all dismounted to find where she had fallen.

Apple, who had been unusually quiet the whole ride, mumbled {Excuse me} before wandering a few yards away to puke.

Liam scowled and jerked his thumb at me. "She started it."

"You're the one who pulled a really strong Pokemon out of your butt! You could have saved us long before we were chased for a couple of miles by rampant rocks!" I yelled at him.

Apple paused from her puking for a moment. {Out of his butt? Really now?}

{Shut it.}

{Better out than in, I always say. Speaking of which—} Apple returned to… well, you know.

Liam folded his arms and snidely remarked, "Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

I marched up to the irritating jerk and poked my finger at his chest. "Shouldn't _you _be explaining yourself! What's your problem?"

Liam opened his mouth and said, "None—"

I threw my arms up in frustration. "—of my business," I finished for him. "I know. I've _heard_. But you know what? IT IS MY BUSINESS! WE'RE ALL FREAKIN TRAVELING TOGETHER!"

"Anita," Erin said softly.

I whirled around. "And don't you start siding with him! You—"

"I wasn't going to!" Erin hollered crossly. "Will both of you just quit it?" She jabbed her finger in my direction. "You need to control your temper, and you—" Erin's finger swiveled to Liam. "Anita's right. We do deserve some answers!"

Liam looked from me to Erin, and then turned around on the spot. He started to stalk away from us…

…only to run into something?

Or someone. The dust storm was finally settling so we could see again. Liam had walked directly into a tall figure. Behind the figure was a large building surrounded by a tall stone wall.

"I thought I heard voices over here," the tall figure said. I could see now that the figure was a man with short black hair and a mustache. "How did you kids get out here? You very well know the campus rules!" The man grabbed Liam by the arm. "Now come along."

Erin and I exchanged looks of confusion. She returned Griffy to his Pokeball while Apple trotted to my side.

Liam, meanwhile, yanked his arm out of the man's grasp. He looked like he was about to pull one of his fighting moves on the man so I sternly said, "Liam, don't." Strangely enough, he actually listened. A puzzled look crossed his face, though.

"Excuse me," I said politely. "Where exactly are you trying to take us?"

"Now don't play dumb with me, girl. You know you're outside the Standard Trainer Academy Boarding School boundaries." The man took Liam's arm and pulled him towards the stone wall. I realized that there was an open doorway in part of the wall.

I looked at Erin and she shrugged. We followed the man.

Apple sighed. {He thinks you guys are students.}

Well that certainly explained things! "Sir, we're not students; we're trainers."

The man snorted. He shoved Liam through the open doorway, and before Erin, Apple, and I could react, he had pulled us through as well. A door slammed behind us.

"Like I haven't heard that one before."


	19. MisTaken

Chapter 17: Mis-Taken

I was Master of Team Glop'emm.

I was Master of dark Pokemon.

I was Master of my emotions.

My memories…

Those remained unmastered.

_There was a baseball field, a playground, and a swing set at the Vintage Village Elementary School. During the recess hour, the well-kept baseball field and playground were populated by several children while the rusted, old swing set usually remained unoccupied._

_Except today._

_Today, a six-year-old boy with hair the color of the midnight sky and eyes brighter and greener than the moon sat on a decaying swing._

_Usually, the boy could be found on the outskirts of the baseball field or on the edge of the playground. The boy always watched the other children play, though he refrained from participating in their games. Aside from the occasional bully, the other children ignored the strange boy. A few months ago, some children had kindly reached out and talked to the boy; the boy had coldly rejected them._

_On this day, nobody noticed the absence of the quiet boy mingling where the grass met the woodchips—with one exception: a girl with raven-colored hair and eyes just as dark._

_She had watched the lonely boy before, but never dared approach him. Now, however, the boy looked so miserable that her pity overcame her fear. She skipped over to the boy and sat down next to him on another worn swing._

"_Hi! My name's Lillian Isabelle Penelope Smith," the girl said, wiggling her legs to get the swing moving slightly. "But you can call me Lily. What's your name?"_

"_Go away," the boy replied stiffly, staring into the sky._

_The girl's stomach went sour and her throat clenched. She knew the boy did this to everyone, but she couldn't help feeling hurt._

_Tears slowly trickled down the girl's face. She pumped her legs, forcing the swing to move. Then she slumped over, letting gravity take control. The wind brushed her cheeks, drying her tears as they fell._

_The boy watched her for a moment and then turned back to the sky. "Sorry," he mumbled._

_The girl smiled bitterly and slowly let her swing come to a stop. "I understand. You're sad and lonely."_

"_I'm neither sad nor lonely," the boy replied harshly._

"_Then what are you? Why aren't you on the edge of the playground, where you always are? Something's wrong," the girl said, almost accusingly._

"_I'm thinking. Nobody noticed anyway."_

"_I noticed." The girl paused to blow her nose in the sleeve of her shirt. "What are you thinking about?" she asked more kindly._

_The boy hesitated, but decided to tell the truth. "Death."_

"_Oh." Then the girl spoke in almost a whisper: "My grandpa died last year. I miss him. He used to read me stories…"_

"_I'm sorry," the boy responded solemnly._

_The two children sat in comfortable silence for a time._

_Finally, the boy confided, "My mom drowned two years ago. I miss her too."_

_The girl nodded._

_The unusual sound of nearby crumpling woodchips sounded in the boy's ears. He looked up._

_A large kid with taunting eyes and wind-whipped hair approached. Apparently, the occasional bully had tired of whatever game had previously been occupying his time._

"_Hey, Cat, who's the new puss?" _

_The boy refused to acknowledge the bully. 'Cat' was the name the bullies had given the boy—his eyes glowed like a cat's._

_The girl wound her fingers nervously._

"_I asked you a question, Cat."_

_Still no reply._

_The large kid turned to the girl. "So are you the Cat's girlfriend? You're a freak, just like he is."_

_The girl looked down at her shoes, her face and eyes red with tears._

"_Stop it," the boy demanded, staring down the bully. "She didn't do anything."_

"_Ooh, your mom did teach you to talk!" the bully exclaimed in mock excitement. "Did she teach you to be chiv-al-ruz too? Standing up for little ladies? She must be a dumb—"_

_**WHAM**_

_The black-haired boy jumped from the swing and tackled the bully. Despite the size disadvantage, the large kid fell on his back._

"_DON'T TALK ABOUT MY MOM!" the boy shouted, punching the larger kid in the nose. Blood flowed freely. The bully made a grab for the boy, but the boy darted back. He aimed a sharp kick at the bully's stomach._

_With an "Oof," the bully rolled into a ball._

_**Ding-ding.**_

_The bell rang, signaling an end to recess. The boy and girl quickly left the swing set and the fallen bully. They walked inside towards their classroom while adults checked the outside to ensure that no kids tried to stay behind._

"_That was brave," the girl whispered. Even though other students were chatting, the hallway seemed abnormally quiet. _

_The boy shook his head, but didn't say anything. He walked with the girl all the way to her assigned desk when they reached their small classroom. As he hurried to his own desk, he expected to be called down to the office at any moment._

_The moment never came._

_Neither did the bully._

_The only time the matter came up in class was when one of the bully's friends raised his hand and asked, "Where's Tommy?"_

_The teacher calmly replied, "He fell during recess. He's going to be alright though. I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow."_

_The boy was surprised, but glad. Apparently, the bully was not a tattletale._

_The minutes ticked by. Not soon enough, school was over._

_The boy gathered his lunchbox and wandered over to the girl's desk. He waited silently while she packed her bag. Together, the two children strolled out of school._

_Once outside, the girl started toward the playground. "Wait," the boy said. "Isn't your mom or dad here to pick you up?"_

_The girl shook her head. "My parents work far away near the mountain, and I live near the mountain, too. It's really hard for them to pick me up and drop me off at home before six."_

"_What do you do till then?"_

_The girl shrugged._

_The boy held out his hand and smiled slightly. "C'mon. My dad can take you home. Maybe we can get ice cream!" The boy led her to his car, a small black convertible with the top up._

"_How was school?" the boy's father asked as the boy entered the car._

"_Dad, can we go get ice cream with Lily?" The father smiled. This was the first time the boy had ever made plans with another child since they moved to Vintage Village._

"_Of course."_

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"This is all your fault," Erin hissed to me quietly. "If you hadn't yelled so loudly…"

"And you gave me that 'Don't hurt the poor, confused man look' before!" Liam whispered. "I would have kicked his ass!"

"I thought he would actually listen to us! I thought someone would listen to us!" I hissed back at them.

"Ahem!" The teacher cleared his throat loudly and stared at us. That's right. I said _teacher_. The man (I think he was a security guard) had escorted us into the building and told us to get back to class. When he wouldn't listen to our objections, we decided we'd just leave _after_ class and walked into a random classroom.

So now, we were sitting in a large room with about one hundred other students. The teacher was lecturing and writing some nonsense on the blackboard. He, apparently, had too many students to realize that we did not go to this darned school.

Apple sat in my lap and watched the teacher intently. I think she was actually paying attention…

{Anita, I had another vision.}

…or not.

{I think I'm getting them because we're near Mint Mountain…it's about—well, I better show you.}

Apple opened her mind, allowing me to view what she was viewing, to think what she was thinking, to remember what she was remembering—

_A dark cave._

_Tickety, tickety, tickety…_

_My heart was racing, skipping an occasional beat._

_Pounding because time was up._

_I took in a deep breath and shut my eyes. With my last reserves, I reached around my cave to ensure my safety…_

_Or rather, the safety of my child._

"_Yes, we've detected strange psychic readings around Mint Mountain in the past few days. My team and I are checking it out…" a voice said from directly below my large cave's entrance._

_Too close! Too late…_

_My eyes flew open._

_No! I would not allow my child to be endangered! I could hold it off until I found a new haven. With a psychic pulse, I propelled myself out of my cave._

_Pain shot up my spine. My body convulsed._

_I was falling._

_My energy was drained. I had not enough to levitate, not enough to save myself, not enough to save my child._

_I plummeted through a purple cloud. Little purple townhouses rushed towards me._

_Everything was purple._

_I closed my eyes._

_The purple remained but a second._

_Red and blue burst through the air._

I gasped, causing Erin and Liam to give me funny looks. {That's not what's going to happen to you, is it?}

{Not any time soon. No, I'm afraid, that is what has already happened to me… Those, I believe, were the dying moments of my father Mew.}

{I'm sorry.}

{Don't be. If it weren't for those moments, I probably would have never met you.} Apple retreated back to her own mind.

I shook my head, attempting to drive the images from my mind. It was too painful… Slowly, I breathed in. I imagined a picture of the vision I had just seen, and I imagined shoving that picture to the back of a very messy file cabinet. I slammed the cabinet shut, and breathed out.

That, my friends, is what I did with painful things.

Pretending I had never seen Apple's vision, I looked around the room and saw that a few other kids had Pokemon beside them or on their lap. There was a Zigzagoon, a Mankey, and a Delibird that I could see.

I watched Erin and Liam for a moment. Liam was staring off into space and Erin was doodling hearts on a piece of scrap paper.

Curiously, I peeped into her mind.

—_his hot rugged breath filled my nose. So delicious and warm. I leaned in for more, and received not just his breath, but the eccentric tingle of his lips on mine. His arm wrapped around my waist—_

I leapt out of her mind and gagged. _This_, I reminded myself with a mixture of guilt and disgust,_ is why I shouldn't go drifting into other peoples' minds, unless absolutely necessary._

Minutes ticked by slowly. Eventually, I became so bored, I actually turned my attention to the teacher. I noticed the teacher was placing a stapled packet upside down on everyone's desks. I peered past the teacher to the board as the man distributed the papers to my row; it read _Quiz_.

"Alright, class," the teacher said as he returned to the front of the room. "Remember, Kadabra will catch you if you try to cheat. So don't. Now make like the Browns and turn it over!"

There was a loud shuffling of papers throughout the room as the students turned their papers over. Liam, Erin, and I did the same.

"What are the Browns?" I asked Liam quietly. Liam was glancing over the test.

"They're a fantasy football team," Liam replied.

"Fantasy football?"

"It's the most popular Gameboy game," Liam explained. "The player picks teams based off of certain skills and then plays a game utilizing these skills. The game involves attempting to make a team throw and pass an oddly shaped ball to score points. Practice can improve a team's skill. It is actually a bit like a Pokemon battle, with all the strategy and recognition of weaknesses involved in the game… Anyway, the Browns are notorious for being the worst team a player can choose to play with on the game. 'Turn it over' refers to giving the possession of the ball to the opposing team."

"Huh," was all I could say. These researchers and their rants…

"Ahem."

Liam and I looked up to find the teacher standing in front of us. His hazel eyes were filled with a smug happiness, as if he found joy in catching students misbehaving.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but you two have an appointment with the dean." He spoke like he thought he was actually funny. "Now!" he added with a warm fuzzy smile. The kind of smile that made me wish a pot would drop from the ceiling and knock the man out cold.

Liam shrugged and got up from his desk. I followed suit. We wound our way back to the wooden door we had entered through.

"Oh, and zeros for both of you!" the teacher called after us as we reached the exit. Like that was a big threat to us.

I looked back at Erin, who seemed at a loss of what to do. {Get yourself kicked out of class,} I suggested.

Taking my advice to heart, Erin stood up and punched the teacher in the stomach.

Erin's greatest moment, in my opinion.

The teacher doubled over while the other students began chuckling and murmuring. Pointing to the door, he muttered, "Dean's office."

Erin didn't hear because she was already with us at the door.

Liam delayed a moment while he watched the teacher. "I've never seen you resort to physical violence. Why'd you do it?" Liam questioned.

Erin stuck her thumb in my direction. "She's the one who told me to get thrown out of class." Erin changed the subject as we left the classroom. "So, anyone know where the dean's office is?" she asked jokingly.

"I'm pretty sure it's not on the campus," I answered, walking towards a door below an EXIT sign.

There was a white flash of light in front of us. The assistant Kadabra appeared.

{I will be escorting you to the dean's office.}

We all sighed and followed the Kadabra.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"So you see, sir, we really aren't students here," Anita finished explaining to the dean. She had recounted our adventure with the Geodudes and Gravelers, which explained how we came to this remote school. Apparently, most people did not travel the way we came through the hills. I had a good idea why.

The dean stoked his tiny goatee thoughtfully. The man was ugly and unfashionable, wearing extremely high waisted Cauchy pants and an orange striped shirt.

The dean poked his keyboard and sighed. "Well, you kids have valid Ids and you aren't in the school's system…"

Anita and I looked at him hopefully. _Please_, I begged silently, _let us out of this hell-hole…_

The dean cleared his throat. "Clearly, you three are not students. However, I think it would be beneficial for students to learn from you—actual trainers—"

"Actually, Liam and I are researchers," I interrupted.

The dean eyed me, agitated. "Nonetheless," he continued. "It would be beneficial for our students to interact with you. Plus, due to… bad behavior… I believe you three owe me. Why don't you stay a night or two? I'll have someone get your rooms ready for you." He said this all in a tone that made it seem like we had no choice.

This is why I always hated school. They're always filled with controlling adults who think they know everything. Like that teacher… he was such a jerk to Anita and Liam. When he acted like a kid himself, I wasn't going to treat him any differently than I treated other boys I deemed nasty.

I peered at the faces of my fellow travel buddies to gauge their reaction.

Liam, as usual, looked like he didn't care, and Anita looked a bit worried. I think she wanted to leave, but wasn't quite sure how to ask. When she turned her attention to Apple, I knew she was discussing something telepathically.

"What if we don't want to stay?" I asked the question Anita wouldn't.

"Kadabra!" The dean called. The annoying psychic Pokemon appeared out of nowhere. "See to it that these kids don't leave the campus." He took a last look at us. "You three are dismissed for now. Enjoy your stay. Kadabra will show you where the mess hall is for dinner."

As we walked out, Anita glared at me. Well, if she'd known this would happen, she should have spoken up.

As we entered the mess hall through plastic double doors, strange fumes filled my nose. It smelled like cinnamon, grease, pineapple, and maybe meatloaf?

I took one look at the food and lost my appetite. "I'll go find us a table," I said. Neither Anita nor Liam looked surprised, though they both got into the food line.

I wandered about until I found a group of nice-looking kids about our age. "Are these seats taken?" I asked a girl with dark skin and sun-bleached hair and a freckled boy with orange-tinted hair.

They shook their heads. "Are you new here?" the girl asked. "I'm Tara, by the way, and this is Max."

"I'm Erin, and no, I'm not a student…" By the time I was finished explaining our situation, Liam and Anita had already sat down. Anita had taken a plate of food for her bizarre Eevee as well.

"Most faculty members don't approve of Pokemon eating human food," Max said, nodding to a group of teachers staring Apple down from across the room. "They say it's a waste. I've gotten detention before for doing it."

Anita shrugged.

"It's not like they can actually do anything about it," I pointed out. "They can't really give us detention."

Just as I spoke, Apple's plate of food started floating away. Our Kadabra "escort" was deeply concentrating on the plate.

"Eev!" Apple complained. Anita turned around and saw the problem. She stared at the plate for a moment and clenched the fork she was holding tighter. Just as the plate was nearing the Kadabra, her eyes glowed for less than a second and she smiled.

The plate flipped over, spilling its contents all over the Kadabra.

We all giggled while the authorities threw mean glances our way.

"Attention students, attention students!" We heard the dean's voice ring over the PA system. "There has been a change in the schedule. All students are to report to the arena and sit in their assigned row. Also, I would like to see the following people in my office immediately: Brandon Vilcove, Tara Kain, Aaron Arnold, Liam Mendol, Anita Parkwood, Erin Kendle."

"Looks like we were called to the office," Tara commented dryly. "Wonder what cockamamie scheme he has this time…"

"You mean it's not because we're in trouble?" Anita asked in surprise.

Tara raised her eyebrows. "I'm one of the school's top students. So are Aaron and Brandon. We don't _get_ in trouble."

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

The dean clapped his hands. "This is simply marvelous! A chance to show the good of the Standard Trainer Academy Boarding School and prove the academy is a more effective way of teaching kids about Pokemon than becoming a trainer at age thirteen!"

Anita and Tara both rolled their eyes.

"Anyone else notice the school's acronym spells STABS?" I asked.

The dean ignored me. "Kadabra, make sure you get all of it on tape. We can use it for a promotional video."

"Kadab," the Kadabra agreed.

A video camera floated beside the dean as he hustled us out of his office down a flight of steps to the arena's entrance.

"Alright, kids. You six will be battling each other." The dean turned to look at the floating camera. "Kadabra, turn the camera on!"

The Kadabra nodded and a green button flashed on the camera.

"Here in Pokemon Academy's own arena we have three experienced trainers battling our own students—" The dean spoke to the camera until I interrupted.

"Excuse me! Liam and I are researchers," I exclaimed. "_Not_ trainers! And it's hardly fair that you're having us battle your top students!"

"Kadabra, remind me to edit that out later." The dean blatantly ignored me. He smiled at the camera and continued, "The battles will be one on one. Brandon versus Liam, Anita versus Tara, and Erin versus Aaron."

Liam stepped in between the camera and the dean. "We did not agree to any of this nonsense."

The dean shrugged.

Anita stepped beside Liam. "I agree. If any of us do not wish to battle, we shouldn't have to. I, for one, would like to battle, but Erin, for instance, might not want to. You can't force her."

Actually, I suspected Liam was the one who didn't want to battle, but whatever…

The dean frowned.

Anita's eyes flickered between the dean and the Kadabra. She saw I was watching her.

{Kadabra noticed we were eager to leave by picking up some of our thoughts,} Anita said. I grimaced at her voice in my head. I _hated_ when she did this. It was like my mind was invaded… {Not that he needed to read our minds to know that—}

"Anita," I said sharply. She stopped speaking.

The dean smiled smugly. "How about if you win two of three battles, I won't attempt to stop you from leaving after. You won't be followed by your escort." The dean gestured to Kadabra.

"We could leave now if we wanted to," Anita replied challengingly. She narrowed her eyes.

"Not with Kadabra on your tail!" the dean answered cheerfully.

Anita opened her mouth, but closed it after a stern look from Liam. Apparently, Liam wasn't keen on other people knowing their abilities.

The dean checked his watch. "Time's being wasted!" He opened the arena doors and herded the six of us forward.

We were standing on the far side of the arena stage. The floor was made of dirt and the ceiling was open to the stars. It looked like about a thousand people were in the stadium. Bright lights illuminated the area. An announcer's voice boomed, "First up is Brandon Vilcove versus Liam Mendol. It is a one-on-one battle. Participants, please report to your sides."

Liam and Brandon walked in opposite directions and then stood facing each other on either side of the field. The audience was murmuring quietly. I sat down next to Anita in a plastic chair provided by the dean.

Liam crossed his arms.

In the very center of the stadium, the dean held a red flag up. As he pulled the flag downwards, he yelled, "Begin!"

Brandon released a Wartortle.

Liam stood still, his arms stilled crossed.

Anita started yelling at him frantically, telling him he had better battle or she would "feed him to the Geodudes without his balls! Both types of balls!"

Funny, I thought. She had said earlier we shouldn't be forced to battle. Then again, that was before the dean had sort of made a deal with us…

"If you do not release a Pokemon, you will be disqualified and Brandon will be declared the winner!" The dean said to Liam gleefully.

Liam rolled his eyes.

Ten seconds later, the announcer declared. "The challenger has failed to release a Pokemon within the time limit! Brandon Vilcove is the winner!"

Brandon looked baffled, but he returned his Wartortle and walked off of the field.

Liam smiled and strode over to a still yelling Anita. He silently withstood her insults until she finally yelled, "Now we'll be stuck here for at least another night!"

Liam's smile widened. "Not if you win."

"Will Tara Kain and Anita Parkwood please take their positions on the playing field," the announcer requested.

Anita gave Liam a final glare before marching out onto the field. Her Eevee skipped after her.

Tara already was in position; she had a confident air about her. The dean waved his red flag, signaling the start of the battle.

Anita nodded to Apple and the Eevee assumed a fighting stance.

"Kit, go!" Tara ordered. In a flash, a beautifully-coated Delcatty appeared. "Sing!" Tara yelled while Anita ordered a "Dig!"

I covered my ears as the Delcatty's voice blared throughout the stadium. Apple popped up beneath the Delcatty, abruptly cutting off his voice. The Delcatty proceeded to attempt to hit Apple with his paws, but Apple dodged with a spin.

The battle went on.

Bored, I turned my attention to my opponent, Aaron.

He was a well dressed boy, wearing a loosely collared shirt. His dark, curly hair fell about his face. Next to him an older boy, Brandon, whispered something in his ear.

Aaron's eyes flickered from the battle to me. I smiled, and he returned the favor.

I watched the battle again.

Apple was now lightheartedly flirting with Kit. The Delcatty's cute charm ability seemed to have finally affected Apple, but I wasn't so sure it made a difference. Anita was yelling at Apple in frustration and while Apple ignored Anita's commands, she continued to playfully dodge Kit's attacks to the point Kit couldn't lay a hit on her.

This was so stupid. We were battling these kids because the dean wanted publicity… because the dean wanted us to stay… because the dean wanted yada-yada-yada.

I wasn't a student here. I didn't give a flying shit about what the dean wanted.

I wanted to kick his rude ass.

Aaron caught my eye again. I grinned and walked over to him. Before he could say a word, I said, "I'm not going to battle you."

Aaron's smile faded. "I was looking forward to it."

"Sorry, I'd rather kick the dean's butt though," I replied.

Aaron grinned. "Now that's something I'll look forward to even more."

"Delcatty is unable to battle! Anita Parkwood is the winner!" the spokesman announced.

I looked at the field and saw Apple jumping around Anita.

Tara returned her Delcatty, frowning. She stiffly congratulated Anita and walked back to us. Apparently, she didn't lose well.

"Next up, it's Aaron against Erin!" The announcer chuckled lamely at the play on words. "Aaron Arnold versus Erin Kendle!"

I boldly stepped forward and yelled, "If it's alright with you, Mr. Dean, I'd rather battle you than Aaron."

The crowd hushed.

Scratching his head nervously, the dean stared at me. He obviously didn't know how to react.

"You don't think you can take me?" I challenged.

"Of course not," the dean replied quickly. "I mean, of course I can beat you. I just… Aaron, is this okay with you?"

Aaron shrugged and nodded.

"It seems there had been a change in match-ups! Our very own dean, Mr. Johnkloven will be battling Erin Kendle!"

The crowd roared.

The dean strode across the field to his position as I walked to mine. Aaron took over the role as referee. He waved the red flag about his head and then thrust it downwards, giving us the signal to begin.

"Kadabra!" the dean called. Our stupid "escort" Kadabra teleported to his side. I noticed Brandon had picked up the video camera. He was zooming in on his own toe.

"Griffy, go!" I released Griffy from his Pokeball. {All we have to do is get a physical hit in. Kadabras have crap physical defense,} I thought, knowing Griffy would hear.

"Agility," I yelled, remembering Kadabras were extremely fast.

Kadabra's eyes were already glowing with a psychic. Griffy had started to pick up speed, but was stopped abruptly by the Kadabra's attack.

"Light Screen!" I ordered. Although I couldn't see it, a barrier must have formed between Griffy and the Kadabra because Griffy could move again.

"Keep it up!" I hoped to force the Kadabra towards Griffy by blocking his psychic attacks. The dean took the bait.

"Fire punch!" He commanded.

"Let it hit!" Griffy stood still and prepared for the punch. The Kadabra's fist glowed as he rushed at Griffy. "Once he hits you, finish this with a stomp!"

Kadabra hit Griffy on the side. Griffy reared and stomped down hard on the Kadabra. The Pokemon visibly flinched.

"Bite!" I demanded, irked that the stomp didn't finish off the Kadabra.

Griffy turned around and jumped backwards. His tail lunged at the Kadabra and bit down hard on his long ear.

Our Kadabra "escort" was knocked out cold.

The dean stood still, a stunned look on his face. The students all whistled and hooted loudly.

I approached the dean and held out my hand. He took it, eyeing me oddly, like I was an endangered bird or something.

"So long, control freak!" I said before spinning around to join Anita and Liam.

Anita high fived me and Liam gave me a quirky smile. I peered past them to Brandon, Tara, and Aaron. Aaron gave me a thumbs-up.

A teacher accosted us as we walked toward the arena entrance.

Before he could say a word, Anita sharply replied to his thought: "We'll escort ourselves out. Thanks anyway."


	20. Emotional Complex

Chapter 18: Emotional Complex

My memories were revisiting me for very simple, logical reasons.

For the past four years, I had been trapped in Drape Town. I had to work to gain the trust of Glop'emm members— I focused solely on making Team Glop'emm successful while I awaited the DNA tracking device.

Then the opportunity arose to travel. It was necessary, of course. My research could not be done in Drape Town and no other human could be trusted to do it.

Such a drastic change of scenery would obviously reawaken memories I had buried long ago.

Simple.

_A boy, a girl, and the boy's father drove in a convertible away from an ice cream shop._

_The girl and the boy were happily licking their fingers after eating ice cream, arguing over which flavor was better while the boy's father drove the routine route to the girl's house. "I called your mother, Lily," the father said, a hint of worry in his voice. "Nobody answered so I left a message."_

_The girl replied, "Don't worry. They don't usually answer at work."_

"_I know." The father frowned, but kept driving. The mountains grew. As the car arrived on the girl's street, the father came to an unexpected stop. "What's that?"_

_The two children peered through the front windshield._

_A pink object was falling from the sky over the scattered houses._

_Abruptly, there was an explosion._

_Blue fire burst through the air where the pink object was before. Several houses and buildings collapsed, while others caught fire—red flames meeting blue._

_Nothing happened to the car, though several nearby houses were up in flames._

_The father picked up his phone. Sirens could be heard in the distance. He dropped the phone; help was already on the way._

_Pulling the car around, the father sped back down the road._

_The girl burst into tears while the boy tried to comfort her by patting her shoulder._

"_Mom and dad… they were near that… they—I want my mom and dad," the girl cried._

"_Hush. We can't go into the fire," the father replied. There was a sharp edge to his voice. A mile down the road, the father pulled into the police station. He swiftly opened the back door and yanked the girl from the car. "Come on."_

"_Bye—" The door slammed shut._

"_Bye, Lily," the boy replied softly._

_Five minutes later the father returned. "She'll be alright," the father assured his son. "The police will handle it."_

"_We could've… She could've stayed with us a little longer…" The boy stared out the window as they pulled out of the police station. He noticed they were driving back towards the fire._

_The father ignored his son's comment. "It had to be a psychic pulse," he explained. "I had dark material twined into this convertible when it was being built. It was unaffected by the explosion."_

"_Are we going to find Lily's parents?" the boy asked, unable to think of any other explanation for his father's actions._

"_No," the father replied harshly. "The police will handle that, too. If that pulse was what I think it was, I have to capture and destroy the Pokemon that created it."_

_The boy noticed his father was shaking._

"_Damn them!" the father burst out suddenly. Ahead, the road was blocked by a wall of bright blue flames. "Hold on!" The car jerked forward, zooming into the flames._

"_Stop!" the boy screamed. He shut his eyes tightly, expecting to feel pain any second._

_Surprisingly, the car easily passed through the wall, the blue flames licking at the window. The inside of the car heated up slightly, but in the next moment, the car was on the other side of the wall. The father pounded on the breaks and the car skid to a stop._

_The father and the boy panted in the car for a moment. The father turned around. "Are you okay?"_

_The boy nodded._

_The father searched the boy's eyes. They were wide and round—but mostly green._

"_First they destroyed our city… our people—your mother, your aunt. Now they destroy this town and hundreds of other innocent people—families are split apart." _

Lily,_ the boy thought. _

"_Legendary Pokemon are too dangerous, too hurtful, too random… Nobody seems to understand this. I came here to escape—so you would be safe." The man shook his head sorrowfully. _

_The boy looked away, out the window and into the flames._

"_But you're not. Nobody is. I have to destroy the cause of this destruction... for your safety, for everyone's safety."_

_Tears welled in the boy's eyes._

_The father began to climb out of the car._

"_Dad, I'm coming, too. You'll be hurt by the psychic without me." The father began to shake his head. "Dad… I don't want to lose anymore." More quietly, the boy added, "I don't want to lose you." The boy looked fiercely at his father._

_Father and son stared at each other for a moment. The father sighed and opened the car's passenger door. The boy took his father's hand and stepped out of the car._

_The air was hot and dry, but breathable. Blue fire did not create smoke._

_The blue wall of fire surrounded the area. Everything else, besides the convertible, was ash. In the center of the ring of blue fire was a large mound of ash._

_And purple eyes, peeking through the ash._

_They blinked._

_The father pulled out a Pokeball and without uttering a word, his Houndoom appeared._

_The eyes moved up in the ash._

"_Crunch."_

_The Houndoom lunged toward the pile. In a split second, the eyes burst from the heap of ash. The Houndoom missed its target and circled the creature from below. The eyes belonged to a grayish-pink body, now floating in the air. It was the size of maybe a loaf of bread, though its tail was twice that length. The creature had short, stubby arms and thick, rabbit-like legs._

_The father smiled grimly. "Mew. What I suspected."_

_The Pokemon looked confused, like it was lost. It continued to float in the air._

"_Flamethrower," the father commanded._

_Flames spouted from the Houndoom's mouth. The Mew floated above the attack and then curiously stuck its tail into the Houndoom's fire._

_A screech of pain flew from the Mew's mouth. It circled the blue fire wall once, causing the blue fire to fade._

_The red continued to burn._

_In the blink of an eye, the Mew was gone._

"_Do you know the scent?" the father asked his Houndoom. The dog Pokemon nodded._

"_Mew won't be far from here, at least not yet—the apple won't fall far from the tree. We'll track down this apple. We'll find it. We'll destroy it—for the good of Acceber."_

Simple.

So why didn't it ever feel that way?

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I kicked my leg out.

Liam caught and twisted it so I fell awkwardly on my stomach onto the hard, dry ground.

I tried to get up, but couldn't. Liam must have been sitting on my legs. I threw my right arm backwards in an attempt to hit that irksome kid. Of course, he caught that too, folded my elbow, and pulled painfully upwards. I winced—just when my leg was feeling better he had to go injure some other body part…

"I give up," I muttered between breaths.

"Find a way out of this," Liam demanded.

If he was any normal person, I could have created a barrier and my current problem would disappear. But nooo; he had to be super special with his dumb dark gift.

"Ow!" I cried out as Liam pulled my arm back farther. "Are you trying to break my arm?"

The pressure on my arms and legs ceased.

"Get up," Liam ordered.

I remained face down on the ground for a second longer before forcing myself up. I shook my arm a bit in an attempt to make its soreness dissipate. My attempt failed miserably.

"I've taught you all the basics," Liam said. He paused, not sure how to continue. Yeah, he sure taught me the basics—he had _basically_ killed me with his practices! Yesterday, I had spent nearly the whole day practicing a simple punch while we were traveling. Yes, people stared at me like I was a lunatic. Luckily, there were very few people in the area. The day before… well, the day before we were chased to a screwy school by rampant Geodudes—but before that we had worked on kicks.

"The basics are all you need," Liam finally continued. "Now you have to work on implementing these basic skills in a useful, original manner."

"And how will that help me beat you?" I asked, irritated.

"If you act in an unexpected manner, your opponent will be unable to foresee your attacks and you will have the advantage," Liam lectured. "Also, you very well know that I am not your opponent—"

"Really then? Who else am I going to be fighting without my powers?"

Liam smirked. "I never said you could not use your gift."

I started to complain that my gift didn't freakin affect him, but he chose that moment to lunge at me.

I dodged to the left, but he was already correcting his movements so his next attack would hit. I expected him to throw a left-handed punch my way, but instead found myself falling from a quick twirl of his right foot.

The air was knocked from me. I looked up in time to see Liam's leg coming down hard. I scrambled out of the way.

This was so stupid. He had obviously been doing this his whole life. How could I be expected to do something to catch him off guard? I had been training for what, a week?

Liam aimed another punch at me. I wearily jumped to the side, only to be hit in my abdomen anyway. I wish I could stop his punches like he could mine; I simply wasn't strong enough.

Before I had time to consider my next move, both of my arms were twisted behind my back. For a moment, I struggled. When my efforts once again proved futile, I slumped over.

Liam let go. "Get up."

Just as I was picking myself up, Liam lunged toward me again. I dropped back to the ground as Liam passed over me, his foot barely not crushing my fingers.

I got up, wishing my gift would affect him. This was all too painful…

Wait. My powers did not affect him, but they did affect me.

Maybe…

Liam was coming at me with a spinning kick. I ducked down and rapidly created a slanted barrier behind me. As Liam's foot passed over me, I used the barrier as a springboard to launch myself forward faster than Liam believed possible. I ended up losing control of the punch I was planning and tackled him to the ground. Still, it was the first time I had actually landed a hit on him.

A second later, I found myself painfully rolled on my shoulder, my arms pinned tight to my back and my legs once again useless.

"Are you through?" I asked. Liam shoved my back. I growled under my breath and peered over my shoulder at Liam. He was scowling.

"Hey, I managed to hit you!" I exclaimed defensively.

Liam smirked. "I congratulate you," he replied mockingly. Then he proceeded to twist my arms painfully. Seriously, I think he was taking this practice too far.

I gasped. "Do you take pleasure in my pain?"

Liam's eyes glinted for a moment before he released me.

I rubbed my shoulder as I got up. Liam watched me thoughtfully.

"Well?"

Liam's eyebrows furrowed. Ah, he had thought my question was rhetorical. Well, it most certainly _was not_!

"No," Liam answered slowly. "I don't believe I do." His dark hair fell into his face as he looked away.

Not knowing what to make of his response, I replied jokingly, "Oh, good. I was beginning to suspect you weren't human." I started walking back towards camp as the sun began to rise. Liam fell in pace beside me.

He smiled slightly. "What do you think being human is all about?"

"What are you, a philosopher?"

He didn't respond.

I considered the question. "I guess it's about living life to its full potential—about experiencing and feeling and thinking everything you can in the time you're given." I hesitated before asking, "What about you?"

"Obtaining a goal. You'd know about that; you're a trainer after all."

I frowned while Liam smirked at me. I thought his philosophy was missing pieces, but I couldn't come up with a good argument. Silence filled the rest of the walk.

Upon reaching camp, Apple stretched and trotted happily over to me, having just woken up. As I scanned the camp, I noticed the lump of Erin's sleeping bag was still full—of Erin.

I lightly shook her bag. "Erin, get up! Time to move out."

"No thanks, Anita. I don't want the muffin," Erin replied, her voice muffled by the sleeping bag. I nudged her again, only to get a loud snore.

Irked, I slid into Erin's mind.

_The air smelled of sugar cookies and blueberry muffins. Erin, Liam, Anita, and Jake sat in a small corner of a small bakery._

_Anita was offering Erin a blueberry muffin._

I smiled. This would be fun.

_Suddenly, the muffin Anita was offering Erin grew until it was human-size. It also grew a tail—a tail that strangely resembled Griffy's._

_The muffin's tail's voice boomed: "YOU DO NOT ACCEPT ME? THEN I DO NOT ACCEPT YOU AS MY EATER! I WILL BECOME THE EATER! MUWAHAHAHAHA!"_

_The tail opened its mouth and leaned toward Erin._

"Ahhh!" Erin leapt up from her sleeping bag with a start. Upon seeing no killer muffin, she sighed in relief.

Liam, who had begun packing, looked up at us, startled.

I couldn't stop cracking up.

Apple looked at me in wonder. {That was brilliant. I've been teaching you well.}

Because I was laughing, Erin immediately suspected I had something to do with her interesting dream. "ANITA!" she yelled. "That was not funny!"

I shrugged. "It got you up."

Erin grumbled inaudibly and started stuffing her sleeping bag into her pack (where it was, of course, shrunk to a more portable size).

"What did you do?" Liam asked, careful to not sound too curious. As I shrunk down a few pots, he took out our map.

"I stuck a giant killer muffin with Griffy's tail in her dream," I answered casually.

"Right…"

When everything was packed up, we gathered around the map.

Liam pointed to a spot slightly northwest of Mint Mountain. "We're right here." He moved his hand. "This is Nelcorn City. We went astray back with the Geodudes, but now we are nearly back to the more traveled route from Azul to Nelcorn. The path from this point forward will be flat, though we will likely encounter people. We can ride our bikes."

I sighed and pulled out my shbinker. Liam and Erin followed suit. I mounted my rusted-over purple bike while Apple jumped into its large basket. Erin and Liam mounted their shiny magenta and dark olive-green bikes, respectively.

And we were off.

Although the wrappings on my leg hadn't hindered me much during practice this morning, riding my bike felt awkward. I could not bend my ankle as usual.

To take my mind away from the discomfort, I watched our surroundings. Behind us, the terrain was rocky and dry. As we pedaled forward, however, the surroundings became more fruitful. There was short grass, and even an occasional tree.

{Hey, Anita?} Apple interrupted the calm, quiet atmosphere of an early morning bike ride.

{What?} I asked stiffly.

{You, your powers, and your emotions are all growing. All at once.}

{That's nice.}

{They're all connected. You've got to start learning control not only over your powers, but your emotions. Otherwise, things will start exploding. Besides you, I mean. Really—} I tuned Apple out; there was no point in listening to what I already knew.

I focused my mind—I needed to practice. At first, I just "listened" with my mind to the Pokemon in the surrounding grass. Then, I moved on to what I wanted to work on: barriers.

Today, I had been able to create a barrier for myself to use against Liam. I had created a slanted barrier, something I had not thought to do before. It opened up all sorts of possibilities, the biggest being: could I create a barrier in different shapes?

I imagined a bent barrier, almost like two flat barriers stuck together at a one-hundred twenty degree angle. I pushed my mind rapidly in front of me, attempting to create the barrier on the ground, in front of my bike.

My bike slowed as it rode up an invisible barrier, bumped slightly as it got to the top, and quickly rolled down the other side of the ramp-barrier.

I smiled.

This would be a fun ride.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

By mid-afternoon we were back to the main route. In the morning, I had practiced creating barriers until my head hurt. Then after lunch, I had battled several of the plentiful trainers in the area and had now taken to avoiding eye contact with said trainers because Apple was exhausted. She was currently fast asleep in her basket. I had battled a bit with Fiery but had not wanted to push him too hard because he was still recovering from the Graveler that had flattened him. We had still not gotten to a Pokemon Center, and in the meantime I only had given him one potion.

According to Liam's calculations (which, for the record, always seemed to be accurate), we had an hour more of traveling before we reached Nelcorn City. This news had not seemed so bad to me, but it had caused Erin to sigh unhappily.

You did not need to be a psychic to know she was bored out of her mind.

"I know, let's play a game!" she exclaimed in this final cycling hour.

Liam grunted and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, I'll take that as a yes!" She really needed to work on her interpretations of our actions. "How about truth or dare?"

"NO!" Liam and I both shouted at once. We gave each other questioning looks.

Erin ignored us. "Okay, fine. I spy?"

"No, thanks," Liam replied, while I said, "Bor-ring!"

"Twenty questions?" Erin asked hopefully.

Liam shrugged, and I answered, "Whatever."

"Okay, I have one. Ask away!"

I peeked into Erin's mind.

"Is it a toaster oven?" I asked.

Erin's eyes widened. "How'd you—Anita, you cheater!"

I smirked.

"That's no fair! Ugh—"

"I have one," Liam interrupted.

I scrunched my nose. I wouldn't be able to peek into Liam's mind… bleh.

"Alright… Is it living?" I asked.

"Sometimes."

"Is it bigger than a condom?" Erin asked.

I turned to Erin. "What kind of question is that?"

"Sometimes," Liam replied. "And you have seventeen more."

"How does that count?"

"Sixteen. This is twenty questions. You get to ask only twenty questions."

"Grr…" I growled.

"Can it fly like an ea-gle?" Erin sang.

"Sometimes."

"Is it human?" I asked.

"Sometimes."

"Can you say anything other than 'sometimes?'" I demanded.

"Yes. Thirteen left."

"Does it have eyeballs?" Erin asked.

"Usually."

"Are there any present?" I asked.

"That depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Perspective," Liam answered.

While I sat silently, thinking this clue over, Erin asked, "Does it jiggle like jello?"

"Not usually…"

"Will you stop asking stupid questions!" I yelled at Erin.

"You're the one wasting questions by shouting useless questions at me and Liam!" Erin shot back.

"Point taken," I grumbled.

"You have eight more," Liam stated.

"Is it a thought?" Erin asked.

"No."

"Can you think of it?" I queried.

"Yes."

"Can it come in many shapes, colors, and sizes?" I asked, finally getting an idea.

"Yes."

"Is it a Ditto?" Erin immediately assumed.

"No."

I smiled. I thought I knew the answer, but there were two possibilities I could think of. "Do you have it?" I questioned.

Liam hesitated. "I'm not sure."

I frowned. Not the answer I was expecting. Last question…

"Is it… a friend?"

"Obviously."


	21. Act One: Missing Links

Chapter 19: (Act One) Missing Links

As we rode through the afternoon, Erin and Liam continued to play twenty questions—Erin kicked me out of the game when it was her turn to think of something. In the meantime, I could not rid myself of a nagging feeling.

Over and over, I replayed that second game of twenty questions in my head.

_Mew or friend?_

_Mew or friend?_

All of his answers matched both. Maybe he meant both…

{Anita, you are being paranoid,} Apple thought drowsily, just waking up from her nap. {Why in Arceus's name would he think of Mew? And if he did, so what?}

{He could be after Mew! It could be the reason he's following us! Remember, when I asked, "Do you have it?" he replied, "I'm not sure." He's not sure because he hasn't confirmed you are Mew!}

{Get a hold of yourself! There is absolutely no reason for him to suspect I am Mew! And even if he did, why would he reveal any of this in a stupid game of twenty questions?}

{Maybe to get us to react,} I answered weakly.

Apple shook her head. {Way too paranoid… if, in fact, he is searching for Mew—which he is not—he has absolutely no way to prove that I am Mew. We'll be fine as long as we keep acting normal as we always have been.}

{Normal… yeah, right.}

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I tiredly stirred my coffee, taking a whiff of the bitter, caffeinated drink. The Pokemon Center's couch pulled me into its lush, blue pillows as I collapsed backwards, exhausted from the day's preparations. Next to me, Reece casually flipped through the battle section of the _Nelcorn News_.

"Reece, they're not here yet," I said tensely.

Reece shrugged.

"What if they don't come in time?" I hissed. "Did you think of that when you planned the party? What if we planned it all for nothing and they don't even stop in Nelcorn!"

"Then I guess we will be enjoying a party without them. Honestly, Carly, who cares?"

"I CARE!" I yelled. Nurse Joy gave me a scolding look from behind the counter. I ignored her. "I've been given the opportunity of a lifetime, and you're asking me why I care? If I do this, I can become a model—I can do what I've always dreamed of!"

Reece looked up from the newspaper and sighed. "I'm sorry. Seriously, they'll be here. I know it," Reece said solemnly, for once in his life. When I did not respond, he continued, "Look, we have everything set up perfectly. We'll be fine. If we don't catch them in this town, we'll find them in the next."

I took a sip of my coffee, trying to relax. "What if they don't come to the party? What if they never attend parties? What then?"

"Everyone comes to parties. They'll be there."

"But Anita _hates _parties."

Reece folded his arms. "Carly, we've been through this. The party includes a battle tournament. Yes, Anita hates parties. However, she will want to come for our battle tournament. We're giving away a crap load of money to the winner, and what trainer does not need money?"

Just then, the Pokemon Center doors whooshed open. A girl with straight brown hair and purple eyes stomped through the door followed by a black-haired boy, a pretty red-haired girl, and an Eevee. Reece quickly picked up the newspaper and pretended to be reading while I turned my head to the dark window, careful to not let the group see my face.

The company did not notice us as they approached Nurse Joy's counter, requested two rooms, and asked if there was a bike shop in town.

Five minutes later, the group disappeared up the stairs, no doubt retiring for the night.

Reece smirked at me. "Told you it'd work out."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Sir, we really can't afford that!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," the manager replied. "But with a flat wheel, a set of breaks that need to be replaced, and several necessary tune-ups, that's the best price I can give you."

I sighed. This is a lesson for all Pokemon trainers: never almost run over a Rattata with a bike.

I had been so absorbed in my own thoughts that I had not noticed the small Pokemon munching on a piece of grain directly in my path—that is, I did not notice it until it was a yard away from my front wheel. To avoid hitting the Rattata, I swerved my bike… right into Erin's. We both careened to the ground causing Liam to crash, bike and all, right into us.

My poor bike couldn't survive the collision. Its brakes literally fell off and parts of its metal frame were twisted in awkward directions. Liam and Erin's bikes were newer and more durable; they only received a series of scratches.

Then, just when we thought the worst was over, an angry Raticate attacked us. Apparently, she thought we were trying to kill her child (which I guess we almost did). Apple and I managed to calm her down, but not before she had taken a bite out of Liam's bike wheel.

Now, because we were down to one working bike, we had located the Nelcorn City Bike Shop. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money to fix the bikes—we had to save nearly all of what we had for Pokemon supplies and basic necessities, like food.

"What if you were to fix just one of the bikes? How much would that cost?" I asked desperately.

"Half the price I gave you before."

"But that's still too much!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but replacing bike parts is expensive," the manager replied.

"Thanks," I grumbled as I spun around and shuffled out of the store.

"Now what?" I asked dejectedly outside the bike shop.

"Looks like we'll be walking," Liam commented dryly.

"We're not leaving 'till tomorrow anyway," Erin insisted.

I frowned. "I thought we voted. We're leaving tonight."

"You two are so boring!" Erin complained. "You'd rather be traveling by foot than attending a party every teenager in a mile's radius is going to be at?"

"Duh," I answered. I assumed Liam would annunciate some similar form of agreement; he had voted with me earlier against the party. I looked at him expectantly.

"Our current dilemma changes everything." Liam pulled a flyer out of his pocket—one of the billions around town stating the party information. He pointed to the bottom of the paper. "There is a tournament for prize money. We need money to fix our bikes. Therefore, we should attend the party so we may participate in said tournament."

I crossed my arms. "No. We already voted! We're leaving tonight."

"C'mon, Anita. You know you'd love to battle," Erin whined. "Who votes we leave tonight?"

I raised my hand. I looked down at Apple; she didn't even raise her paw.

{What?} she asked sheepishly. {I like parties!}

{Traitor.}

"Alright, who votes we go to the party?"

Liam and Erin each raised a hand. Apple raised a paw.

"We already voted!" I repeated. "We voted to leave, remember? Two against one." I glared at Liam.

"Who votes we can overturn old votes?" Erin asked. Both she and Liam raised her hand. Again, Apple lifted a paw.

"Oh, come on!"

Erin tugged my arm. "Let's go. We have lots of shopping to do before tonight!"

"Shopping! We don't even have enough money for new bike parts!"

"Who said we were going to buy anything?"

I groaned.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

"What color eye shadow do you want?" Erin asked, spreading my numerous choices in front of me on her wooden nightstand.

"Neon green," I replied without even glancing at my options.

Erin examined her different eye shadows. "I don't have that…"

"No, duh."

"A little cooperation would be nice!" Erin cried out. "How about a light lavender? It would match your tank top."

"I'm not wearing eye shadow, Erin." The mascara was bad enough…

Erin started at me with the eye shadow anyway. I thrust my mind forward, creating a barrier at her feet. Just as I intended, she toppled forward, smearing the eye shadow across the floor.

"Anita! That was one of my favorites…"

"Well, I told you I didn't want any!"

{Will you two stop bickering and come brush me?} Apple demanded.

I rolled my eyes but complied.

Erin looked me over thoughtfully. "I like that grey mini-skirt on you. You can keep it.

"Just what I've always wanted," I replied sarcastically.

Erin ignored me and turned to examine her own reflection in the mirror. She was wearing high black boots and a magenta dress that ended above her knees. Dark eye shadow above her eyes and straightened hair—she was, in a word: hot.

I, on the other hand, was wearing a simple tank top, skirt, and sandals. I had just wanted to wear my normal capris and tee-shirt, but Erin had flipped out on me. She had immediately pulled out her shrinkable wardrobe (which was filled with G-d knows how much clothing) and tossed clothes at me. After two hours of constant arguing (I would not wear that revealing red shirt… or those enormous heels…or, well, you get the picture), we finally settled on my current outfit.

Erin turned around. "I'm ready to go," she announced.

Apple jumped off of my lap as I finished brushing her tail. She shook her soft coat. {I'm ready, too!} I rose, brushing the Eevee fur off of me.

"Now all that's left is Liam," Erin muttered to herself. She stuck her hand into her gigantic wardrobe and pulled out a black suit and tie. "This'll do…"

"Um, Erin, why do you have guy's clothing in your closet?" I asked tentatively, not sure I actually wanted to know the answer.

Erin shrugged. "I've got to be prepared for everything. Now, where did I put the wardrobe shrinker?"

As Erin searched for the shrinker device, I picked up a party flyer and read it over again.

**Attention Teenagers!**

You are invited to party at the Phanpy Party Center (PPC)!

Who: Any teenager between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. You must have an ID to be admitted.

When: 7:00 p.m. July 16, 2013

Where: The PPC, of course!

What: Dancing, fun, and _battle tournament!_

Dress: Semi-formal

Please Note: Due to the large number of young trainers that will be present at the PPC, Pokeballs will be strictly forbidden within the PPC. By taking this precaution, the PPC hopes to avoid stolen Pokemon and unauthorized battling. Trainers entering the tournament may bring one Pokemon outside of its Pokeball into the PPC. Pokemon must be small enough to carry. Trainers will be checked at the door. Any trainer who violates PPC's rules will be detained. To obtain a complete list of PPC rules or if you have any questions, please call 1-800-PAR-TEEE.

"What Pokemon are you going to bring?" I asked Erin curiously.

"Tweal. Are you coming, or what?" I looked up. Erin was holding the door open and the gigantic wardrobe was not in sight. Apple and I followed Erin out of the room.

"You know, Liam never told us about his Pokemon…" I said as we stood before his door.

Erin bit her lip. "I know. We'll ask him now—" She knocked on his door and held up the black suit. "—after he changes into this, of course."

A teenager wearing black jeans and a black loosely buttoned shirt opened the door. His hair was brushed just enough so it didn't look messy, but kept its slight wildness.

I blinked. Geez, that was Liam?

Erin's jaw dropped. "Guess you don't need this," she mumbled. "You look…uh…good."

Liam nodded, a small smile on his lips.

I coughed slightly to get their attention. "We need to talk."

Liam opened the door wider, inviting us in. The room was a lot cleaner than the one Erin and I were sharing. Erin and I sat down on the extra bed while Liam sat on his.

"We need to know why you don't use your Pokemon, how you have a Tyranitar, and why you did not tell us," I bluntly said.

Liam's expression returned to its usual stoicism. "I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"Well, Erin and I would prefer that you tell us. We don't feel like we can trust you without this information."

Liam looked away, hesitating before saying, "There was an accident a long time ago… I used to be a trainer… I was a very good trainer."

Well, that explained the Tyranitar.

"Then, my Pokemon…" Liam continued. "They… they nearly killed a good friend of mine… It was an accident, of course…"

Liam stopped to take a breath. Alright, maybe I really shouldn't have asked.

"My Pokemon… I loved them but… I couldn't remain a trainer… I couldn't bear seeing them, letting them out of their Pokeballs—I wouldn't let them out of their Pokeballs, not unless it was absolutely necessary…"

"Wow." Erin whispered.

Liam looked me in the eye. Solemnly, he said, "I explained the situation to them. I loved them… but I couldn't be around them. I offered to release them… The Pokemon I have left are the ones who refused…"

Erin got up and sat down next to Liam, patting his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She gave me the "this is all your fault" glare. Hey! She agreed to do this, too.

"Yeah, sorry" I murmured, not sure if I was more annoyed with myself, Erin, Liam, or this whole situation. "Umm… you know the tournament?" I continued uncomfortably. "Well, we really need that money… so we should all bring a Pokemon. If you're not comfortable bringing your own Pokemon, maybe you could barrow one of mine?" My voice went kind of high and awkward at the end.

Liam smiled slightly. "Sure."

{I object!} Apple said.

{Why?}

{Well, who do you think is going to be paired up with him? You think Fiery will listen to him?}

{Let's find out.} I pulled out Fiery's Pokeball and Fiery appeared out of the red light. {Fiery, would you battle for Liam?}

{Is Liam my trainer?}

{No, but—}

{Is Liam a blood relative?}

{I sure hope not—}

{Do I care about Liam?}

{Not that I'm aware—}

{Then why the hell would I battle for him!}

{Told you so,} Apple snickered.

I sighed. {Apple, will you battle for Liam?}

{I don't wanna.}

{Apple, come on! Please? We need all the chances we can to win that money!}

{If we win the money, can you use some of the money to buy me a jumbo hotdog?}

I rolled my eyes. {Fine.}

{Then we have a deal.} Apple trotted over to Liam, sniffed his foot, and plopped down next to him.

"Apple will battle with you," I told Liam. "Fiery, you're with me."

{Joy.}

"Alright, ready to go?" I asked. I looked at my watch. "The party already started."

Liam and Erin got up.

{Well this has been an interesting evening,} Apple commented. {I can't imagine there could be too much more excitement.}

She couldn't have been more wrong.


	22. Act Two: Sweet 'n' Sour Minus the Sweet

Chapter 20: (Act Two) Sweet 'n' Sour Minus the Sweet

The Phanpy Party Center was huge. It was literally the biggest building in the city on the largest property I had ever seen. The building looked more like a country club than a party center; the architecture was Roman style, with white columns and stone walls. Several large gardens and wide grass fields surrounded the building, and around the whole huge property was a pointy iron fence. We had to wait in line with other trainers to make it to the front gate in order to get through said fence.

Behind us, two trainers were discussing battle strategies of water Pokemon, and in front of us a girl and guy would not shut up about who was better at battling. The girl had blond curly hair and the boy had a buzz cut…

And why was I observing this? The line was moving too freakin slow!

So, back to the blond curly hair…

Wait, I knew that blond curly hair!

{I was wondering when you would notice,} Apple snickered from by feet.

"Mia?"

The blond girl turned around.

"Mia!" I exclaimed, before enveloping her in a huge hug.

"Anita! Wow, the last place I expected to run in to you would be a line for a party. What are you doing here? Who dressed you? And _who_ is your friend?" Mia fluttered her eyes at Liam.

"I can see you haven't changed," I said with a laugh. "This is Erin—she dressed me—and that's Liam." I gestured to our Pokemon. "You know Apple. The Flareon is Fiery and the Taillow on Erin's shoulder is Tweal. We're here for the battle tournament."

"And the party!" Erin piped.

"We were passing through town… Guys, this is Mia, my childhood friend. Why are you here?" I asked curiously.

"The only person who would consider refusing a free party is you, my dear friend, but I know that's not what you meant. We're in Nelcorn because there's a huge contest here next week." She turned to Erin and Liam. "Nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Mia, this is Andrew, my Chikorita named Lola, and Andrew's Snorunt named Snorkoal."

"So how have you been since I last spoke to you?" I asked. Generally, we tried to call each other once or twice a month to keep in touch. The last time I had talked to her was the day before my birthday.

"Same old thing. I haven't won any more ribbons in the past couple of weeks, but hopefully that will change by the end of next week. Look at you, though! Already have a Flareon! How many gyms have you beaten?"

"Two, but those weren't very exciting compared to what else has happened to me. I have such insane stories to tell! You know Carly and Reece? Well, I've managed to already run into both of them!"

"How the heck…?"

"Well, I found Carly's house by accident…" In the next several minutes, I recounted my encounters with Carly and Reece, excluding parts about my gift. I wouldn't mind telling Mia, but there were too many other people nearby for our conversation to be private.

I had finished by the time we reached the front gate. We were scanned with a machine by two security guards to ensure we did not have any type of Pokeballs. All of us made it through, although some guy behind us was stopped.

We walked up the stone path that led from the gate to the entrance. In the vast fields on either side of the path there were a few Pokemon and trainers practicing attacks. When we reached the main doors of the PPC, we could hear loud music playing, muffled by the party center's walls.

As we walked though the grand entrance, we were greeted by two lovely teenagers.

At least, they were lovely upon first glance…

…before I recognized them.

Fiery and Apple realized the same thing I did at about the same time. Immediately, they lunged at the female teenager. The girl screamed, "Thunderwave!" and a bolt of electricity spun from near her feet.

I threw up a barrier between the girl and us. {Stop!} I yelled at Fiery, Apple, and the Pokemon who had used thunderwave, which I now identified as a Dratini. Both Fiery and Apple hit my barrier with a thud and the thunderwave deflected harmlessly into the air. {Don't do anything stupid,} I reminded them. I picked up Fiery and Liam, to my surprise, picked up Apple. I hoped I would be able to follow my own advice. We literally could not afford to be kicked out this early.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled.

"Yeah, really," Mia muttered. "Speak of the devil…"

"This _is_ my party," the girl replied. She didn't seem at all phased by the barrier I had created. In fact, nobody did. When I replayed the incident in my head, I realized it must have looked like the thunderwave actually hit. Apple and Fiery were standing so still, if I didn't know better, I would have believed it myself.

"Your party?" I said in disbelief.

"I paid for it, distributed the flyers, and arranged it in celebration of _my_ birthday tomorrow. So yes, it is _my _party."

"Erm… who are these people?" Erin asked.

I pointed to the blond girl, dressed in a lovely red dress with a fashionable scarf around her neck. "This is Carly Goldenthrill, the bitch who threw Allo, Sunflower, Vanilla, Splash, and Fiery out on the curb." I turned my gaze to the boy dressed in a brown shirt and cache pants. "And this is Reece Dracuta, the pervert from Peepin Pond."

"A pleasure to meet you both," Liam said. I moved my glare to Liam. He only shrugged. In Liam's arms, Apple squirmed, trying to escape.

{Stop it,} I ordered.

{I can't use my psychic powers like this,} Apple complained. {You have to reach out to me to talk with me!}

{You're not supposed to be using your powers, remember? We're on ultra-high alert because of Liam,} I reminded Apple.

{Liam's really starting to annoy me… do I have to listen to him in battle?}

{Unfortunately… look, I really should be paying attention to the argument Mia is having with Carly… It sounds like some excellent insults are being exchanged…}

{Fine, leave me. You know, it's awfully quiet in my head when I can't listen to other creatures' thoughts…}

I rolled my eyes.

"Slut! You're the slut! Look who is with Reece, Miss Slutty Slut!" Mia scoffed. Yeah, she's never been the best at insults…

Noticing Carly's Dratini and Reece's Bagon by their sides, I interrupted the argument and asked, "How did you two manage to capture such rare Pokemon?"

Carly flicked her hair back. "A birthday present from my mother. Bagon was ugly so I gave it to Reece." Reece smiled smugly.

I exchanged disgusted looks with Mia and Erin before inquiring, "How are you here if your birthday is tomorrow?"

"Why all the sudden questions?" Carly snapped. "I can get anything I want. My mom pulled a few strings and poof, I'm able to start my journey early." Carly's head twirled to Liam. Strangely enough, Reece had been watching Liam for the last several minutes. It was also strange that Reece had not said a word yet, not even a comment about my ass… "Who's your friend?" Carly asked suddenly.

"I have a lot of friends," I retorted.

"I'm Andrew," Andrew said, though he clearly knew he was not being asked about. I chuckled.

"C'mon, let's go," Mia said, marching to the right, away from Carly and Reece. I started to follow her…

"No, who are you?" Carly asked, grabbing Liam's shirt.

Apple growled and Liam yanked his shirt back.

"Liam Mendol," he answered coldly.

"Dating anyone?" Carly asked flirtatiously.

"Actually, I'm engaged to this Eevee," Liam replied in a dead-serious voice. He spun around and stalked after us.

I couldn't help giggling at the look of revulsion on Apple's face.

We didn't look back, but I sensed that Carly and Reece were attempting to follow us. Creepers. I put up a barrier between us to stop them. When I heard a light thud, I knew I had succeeded. "Can we leave now?" I asked Erin and Liam once we were they were out of earshot.

"Not if you want that money."

"You know what's weird?" Mia started. "They didn't demand we leave the party. I thought for sure that was what Carly was going to do. It's what I would have done if she showed up at my party."

"It was also queer that Reece didn't say a word," I added.

"Maybe they're changing for the better?" Andrew suggested.

Mia and I laughed. "I'd believe Mew was sitting in front of me this instant before I'd believe that," Mia joked.

I half-snorted and Liam smiled at Mia. Nobody else seemed to find the remark amusing…

"Come on, let's go sign up for the battle tournament," I finally insisted. "It starts in fifteen minutes."

"But there's music! Couldn't we dance for a bit?" Erin pleaded.

"No way, the line to sign up is way too long," Mia pointed out. Thank goodness. "Hey, Anita, you should probably run your two Pokemon over to one of those spare healing machines to get rid of their paralysis." I had told Mia that Liam was a researcher with weak Pokemon so he was borrowing my Eevee for the tournament. A little white lie… much like the one I was going to tell about healing my "paralyzed" Pokemon.

"Yeah… I'll get right on that."

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

So far my evening was absolutely spectacular! Not.

Yes, I was in the semi-finals, but…

Well, I guess I should start from the beginning of the tournament.

Approximately two hundred teenagers were participating in the tournament. In order to cut that number to an even one hundred twenty eight, there were several pre-tournament battles. Because I had two badges, I was one of the lucky few who got to skip this preliminary round. Erin was not so lucky. She and Tweal faced a Shinx and lost very quickly. Right off the bat, it was up to Liam and me to win the money to fix our bikes. Liam wasn't even using his own Pokemon… great.

The rest of us all made it into the actual tournament (by rest of us, I mean Mia and Andrew). Sadly, I noticed Reece and Carly made it as well.

The first two rounds were pretty easy for everyone. Fiery and I beat a Bellsprout and a Meowth, Liam and Apple beat a… actually, there's really no point in listing all of these. All of us made it to the third round, where there were thirty-two contestants left. In this round, Mia faced Andrew. Mia and her Chikorita lost pretty much because a grass Pokemon can't do shit against a pure ice type. Other than that, not much excitement in the third round.

Then the fourth round. Guess who I ran into just before the fourth round?

Nope, not Carly and Reece. (We had been adamantly avoiding them. If they got too close, I'd just put up a barrier.)

Someone who we seemed to run into all too often—

Jake Veneer.

I found him flirting with Erin, of course.

"_Anita, look who's here!" Erin exclaimed._

"_Did you miss me?" Jake grinned. "I'm on my way back from Cape Caution, where I already earned my third badge," he bragged._

_I grimaced while Erin squealed, "Oh, that's so impressive!" I glared at Erin._

_She gave me a smile and a wink._

"_So, are you participating in the tournament?" Erin asked._

"_Of course I am, my dear. I'm in this next round."_

"_Where's your Pokemon, then?" I folded my arms._

"_She prefers to stay under ground," Jake easily answered. He held out his arm. "I'm up soon. Would you like to accompany me?" he asked Erin._

"_I'd love to!" Erin took his arm._

"_You're welcome to take my other arm, Anita," Jake offered in a sugary voice. Gag._

_I turned away in disgust…_

I still had a sour taste in my mouth.

Because fate had decided I hadn't had enough torture this past evening, I faced Reece in that fourth round. Though he was extremely easy to beat, I found his smug smile and lazy stare incredibly annoying and uncomfortable. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he was going for, but I obviously did not stick around to after the battle to find out.

Andrew lost in that fourth round to some guy with a Masquerain. The referee of his battle was a bit… off. Before the battle he was trying to sell some trainers concessions, even though this was a party so there was free food inside just around the corner. His face looked familiar, but I couldn't quite pinpoint where I had seen him previously…

Before I could ponder the referee any further, it was the next round. Summary of round number five: Jake beat Carly. Yesssssss! (insert Carly's eliminated dance here) Wait a second. That means Jake is still in. Aww…

…which brings me back to my current situation: the semi-finals.

There were only four of us left: me, Liam, Jake, and the guy with the Masquerain, whose name was apparently Fred.

There were only three ways this could go:

1. Me vs. Jake and Fred vs. Liam

2. Liam vs. Jake and Me vs. Fred

3. Me vs. Liam and Jake vs. Fred

Options one and two would have been wonderful—these options would have opened up the possibility of both Liam and I making it to the final round, thus ensuing we would receive the bike money no matter how the final battle ended. Because options one and two were, in my opinion, more preferable, we obviously got stuck with option three.

Yup, Fiery and I had to battle Liam and Apple in the semi-finals.

{He's not even your trainer! How the heck did you two make it this far?} I asked Apple as we stood across from each other on the grassy battlefield.

Apple smirked at me, revealing her tiny fangs. {I'm just that awesome.}

I rolled my eyes.

{We'll see how _awesome_ you are in a minute,} Fiery growled. Apple stuck out her tongue.

{Yeah, once that ref gets back here,} I added. I quickly scanned the area to see if there was any sign of our recently disappeared referee. The battle between Fred and Jake, I noticed, had already commenced. Jake's Diglett hid underground as the Masquerain fired bubbles at it…

I turned my gaze to Liam. He was glaring towards the party center building. I followed his line of sight, and low and behold, our referee! I squinted… hmm, it was the same referee from Andrew's battle with Fred earlier. The man was pocketing a handful of money, and his concessions were nowhere that I could see.

The referee briskly walked towards Liam and me. Once he was in place, he raised his flag and shouted "Begin!"

In a split second, all of Apple's attacks flashed through my head. I remembered Liam's words from the previous day… _If you act in an unexpected manner, your opponent will be unable to foresee your attacks and you will have the advantage. _Because I had trained Apple, she would surly be predictable, giving me the advantage. I expected her to use dig against Fiery, as it would be considerably more effective than any of her other attacks.

"Quick attack!" I shouted.

For a moment, Liam said nothing. He watched as Fiery rushed towards Apple. Then just before Apple hit, he ordered, "Attract."

I almost laughed. How dumb could he get? Apple didn't know that attack…

"This is too easy. Come on Fiery, Iron Tail to finish it!"

But Fiery didn't respond. He was gaping at Apple, watching her as if she was some sort of deity.

Ugh. {Apple, I'll get you for this!} I called. Apple smiled widely and then nuzzled Fiery lovingly.

"Dig," Liam demanded. To his surprise, Apple ignored him and playfully nipped at Fiery's tail. She giggled as Fiery teasingly snapped back. "You are not the one attracted! Dig!" Liam ordered once more.

Again, Apple ignored him. She might not be attracted to Fiery through an attack, but she was nonetheless attracted.

"Fiery, snap out of it!" I yelled, out loud and psychically. Bite!"

Fiery shook his head and stared for a moment at the Eevee attempting to cuddle with him. Then, reality seemed to hit and he sharply bit down on Apple's tail…

Or where Apple's tail was moments before she slipped past Fiery, licked his cheek, and then dove into the ground.

"Ember into the hole!" I called. Fiery did not respond once again. He looked longingly at the hole, like a lovesick fox… which I guess he actually was. I muttered angrily to myself and attempted to slip into Fiery's mind—

—only to be shoved out. {Fair is fair!} Apple said. {If I'm not using my powers, you shouldn't be using yours!}

{You just used yours to stop me, you little dim-wit! And you only pull that "fair" card when you'd have the advantage! It's inconsistent with the whole fairness policy!}

{And you're miss, "oh, I'd feel guilty if I ever read someone's mind in a battle. It'd be _cheating_." Well, what do you call what you were about to do?} Apple yelled. She burst out of the ground and hit Fiery squarely in the chest.

A twinge of guilt churned in my stomach. {Hypocritical, I suppose…} Apple tackled Fiery to the ground again. "Fiery, snap out of it!" I yelled uselessly. I hated this… not being able to help my Pokemon.

{Fiery, use iron tail!} I called. Apple was too busy using iron tail herself to stop me from entering Fiery's head. Sudden realization dawned in Fiery's eyes; he managed to block Apple's tail with his own. Apple jumped back, out of physical attacking range.

Did I feel guilty about using my powers? Yes. Was I sorry? Not a bit.

Fiery was breathing heavily; I'd have to do something to finish this fast.

"Ember!" I ordered.

"Dig."

This was my one chance. "Fiery, get to that hole and fire down it!" But it was too late—Apple popped beneath Fiery just as he reached the hole.

Fiery collapsed. Apple poised herself nearby, ready to attack should Fiery get up. "Fiery, you can do this," I hollered hoarsely.

Unfortunately, Fiery didn't get up.

"The winner is Liam Mendol and his Eevee!" the referee declared.

I quickly strode onto the field to pick up Fiery. Apple ran up to me to do her victory dance. {I beat my trainer! I beat Fiery! I'm that awesome! Na, na, na, naaa, naaa.}

{Don't get full of yourself.}

{I'm not. I'm full of victory!}

I scooped up Fiery in my arms as Liam approached me. He held out his hand. "Good battle."

Rolling my eyes, I shook his hand. "I suppose I can't be too mad. You've won with _my_ Pokemon, after all."

{He did command me, you know. Maybe he's a better trainer.} Liam smirked, as if he knew what Apple had said.

{You're not supposed to say that! You're my Pokemon!}

Apple shrugged.

"The next round will commence in ten minutes!" a referee announced. I looked over my shoulder and found Jake shaking Fred's hand. Fred's Masquerain lay fainted in his arms.

Liam and I started heading inside for the automatic Pokemon healing machines.

"I do have one question…" I started. Liam looked at me expectantly. "How did you know Apple knew Attract, when I didn't even know Apple knew that attack?"

Liam pulled a red device out of his pocket and handed it to me. I flipped it open and gasped, "Is this a Pokedex?"

Liam nodded. Pokedexes were extremely rare and even more expensive. A Pokedex could scan a Pokemon to reveal attacks learned and general skill level as well as having several other features. I'd have expected someone like Carly to have one… "Where did you get it?"

"My father gave it to me a long time ago, when I was still a trainer."

Deciding not to pursue that tangent further, I asked Apple, {How did you learn Attract anyway?}

{I picked up some tips from that Delcatty I fought. It's really an easy skill to learn… Liam helped me perfect it today in earlier battles.}

Great. I had an Eevee that already abused her psychic powers. Now, she suddenly had the power to attract half of the Pokemon population.

That did not seem like a good combination.

We reached the automatic healers. They were cone shaped, with automatic sliding doors. I placed Fiery inside the open doors of one, and Apple hopped into another. The doors closed, and seconds later, both Apple and Fiery leapt out of the healers.

Apple wasted no time. {I beat you, I beat you!} She sung at Fiery.

{Don't get full of yourself,} Fiery growled. I smiled at the familiar words. {I'll take you on again anytime.}

{You still have one battle to win,} I reminded Apple as Liam started back towards the doors that led to the outside field in back. I followed… {Are you coming?} I asked Fiery.

Fiery shook his head. {If you need me I'll be sulking in the front garden.} He began to trot away.

{You're not going to watch?} Apple asked, a touch of disappointment in her voice.

{I don't enjoy watching selfish braggarts,} Fiery sneered.

Apple sadly watched him go. {You shouldn't have—} I scolded.

{I know,} Apple interrupted before shaking her head and trailing Liam. Her ears and tail drooped slightly as she padded across the cold tile floor.

Her sweet victory gone sour.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Annoying twit. _That_ girl was stalling our plans with her stupid barriers. I couldn't get within a hundred yards of her!

And he had realized it too. He was avoiding me by staying close to her. Unfortunate really—he was losing a chance to be with a beautiful, wonderful girl.

Whatever. It did not matter. For we had a back up plan…

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Lights twinkled brightly above the field, blurring out the stars and the waning moon. I stood across from the referee—one of many partiers watching the final battle.

The last battle—the ultimate battle—the crucial battle.

The battle to end all battles!

The battle to win the tournament money so we could repair our bikes.

Very dramatic, right?

Liam and Jake faced each other across the field. Jake was wearing his usual smirk while Liam's expression remained unreadable.

I did my best to ignore the tinge of jealousy I felt for Liam. I wanted to be battling…

The referee—no not the bizarre one; he seemed to have disappeared—shouted, "Begin!"

So it did.

{Aw, shit, the Diglett's a girl,} was Apple's first thought.

"Dig!" commanded both Liam and Jake. Both Pokemon disappeared under ground.

"Go Jake! You got this!" a girl yelled beside me.

I turned to tell her to shut the hell up—"Erin?"

"Oh, hey Anita," Erin said before shouting again, "C'mon Jake!" Jake caught Erin's eye and grinned.

"Erin, we need the bike money! And that's my Eevee! You have to root for Liam!"

"But Jake is cuter…" Erin stuck out her tongue at me and continued cheering for Jake.

I rolled my eyes. Apple suddenly was tossed out of the hole she had gone down. She may be able to use the attack dig, but Digletts were naturally stronger and quicker under ground (thus their name). Liam seemed to understand this—he was smiling slightly. In fact, I had a suspicion that he only had Apple use dig to test the Diglett's speed—

"Go Jake!" Ugh, this was annoying. Hmm, maybe…

I hopped into Erin's mind chanting, {Go Liam, Go Liam, Go Liam, Go Liam…}

"Go Liam! Go Liam!" Erin shouted. Her hands rushed to her mouth. "Did I actually say that?" she hissed. "Anita, get out of my— Go Liam! Go Li—Anita, I'm gonna kill you!"

Erin somewhat subdued, I watched the battle through her eyes. "Apple, do what I say—iron tail that rock!" Liam ordered. Jake's Diglett raced toward her in an attempted slash, but Apple dodged to the right just in time.

{How is breaking a rock going to help me? I've got to beat this Diglett, not the rock!} I heard Apple think. I couldn't help but agree with her.

"For the last time Apple, use your tail to break apart that rock!" There was a sharp edge to Liam's voice. Apple was thrown backwards as she was hit by another dig attack. "Get to that rock!"

Another hit.

"Apple, Digletts have poor eyesight," Liam explained as Apple tiredly sidestepped the Diglett popping out of the ground. "They 'see' through vibrations in the ground. In order to win this battle, you must break the rock into shards, and then kick these shards to make vibrations elsewhere. This will make it appear to the Diglett that you are elsewhere, and allow you to predict the locations the Diglett will appear."

{Why didn't you say so—} The Diglett knocked Apple to the ground. And out.

Liam muttered, "Too late," spun on the spot, and angrily kicked the grass…

I left Erin's body and blinked. Whoa, Erin's face was way too close.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Erin said angrily.

"Or what?" I taunted playfully. Erin raiser her hand and swiped at me. If it weren't for Liam's practice I would have never been able to move out of the way in time. "Alright, alright! I'm sorry! I won't do it, I swear!"

Erin turned and melted into the crowd. Right, the crowd. People swarmed around me onto the field, cheering for Jake. I couldn't even see Jake any more… or Liam and Apple, for that matter.

I did hear Jake yell, "Come on! Let's go get this party started!" I was nearly swept off my feet by the crowd. I had to create a small barrier around me to prevent getting herded inside with everyone else.

{Apple!} I called out. I couldn't locate her; there were too many people and thoughts flooding my senses. {Apple!} I tried again. It was no use. I prayed she hadn't been trampled.

I sighed and rigidly watched my watch as the crowd cleared out. It took seven minutes and twenty six seconds… not that I was counting.

I looked at the area I on the field I thought Apple had fallen. She was no where to be found. I figured as much—Liam probably took her to be healed. I had just been hoping I wouldn't actually have to go back into the party.

I calmed my mind and focused on Apple. It was strange—I thought I felt her in the midst of the party center, but I couldn't seem to speak telepathically with her. I stopped trying and watched the wind tickle the tips of the grass blades for a moment, summoning my courage.

I turned around and held my head up high, attempting not to cringe as I followed the crowd into the booming music… the restless dancing… the sweaty bodies…

My personal hell.


	23. Act Three: DiVine Dancing

Chapter 21: (Act Three) The Di-Vine Dance

Blaring music, dimmed lights, another victory, and several hot girls dancing beside me—this was the life! I skimmed the giggling group of girls surrounding me for one in particular, one redhead among these blonds and brunettes.

Ah, there she was—not amid my crowd, but in a small cluster of her own, one adjacent to mine. No matter, I would go to her.

I pushed through the several girls, excusing myself gracefully. When one girl with a particularly strong grip latched onto my shoulder, I twirled her away into another lucky gentleman's arms.

Erin, said beautiful redhead, was laughing and appeared to be having a dance off with a blonde girl I had seen in the battle tournament. The blonde girl performed a series of complex jumps through her Chikorita's vines. She then snatched the vines and spun them, causing her Chikorita to roll through the air and land on her shoulder. The blonde gave Erin a "beat that" look.

Erin smirked and nodded to her Taillow. The bird hopped to the ground and Erin began with a series of unusual dance moves—all of which her Taillow imitated perfectly. When Erin folded her arms and square stepped, the Taillow folded his wings and square stepped. It was quite amusing to watch the Taillow imitate everything Erin did exactly.

Erin ended with a double back flip (causing several nearby dancers to back away/move out of the way in surprise) up to the blond girl and then whirled the girl into a waltz position.

The Taillow did the same, only ending up in a waltz position with the Chikorita.

Both girls burst out laughing.

I strode up to the pair of hyenas and slipped my hand between theirs. The laughing came to an abrupt stop.

"May I intercede?" I asked. Erin looked up and blushed. Upon seeing Erin's expression, the blonde girl winked and disappeared into the crowd of dancers toward the wall. Erin's Taillow whistled a cat-call before flapping off after the blonde.

I took Erin's light hand and twirled her closer to me. When I heard her breath catch, I smirked slightly. "That was quite a dance," I complemented. "Do you and your Taillow practice regularly?"

Erin looked up at me with those lovely hot-chocolate-like eyes. "Yeah…I—uh… I mean no."

"No?" I asked. This was unlike Erin's usual quick and witty response… interesting. I touched Erin's other arm and trailed my finders up to her hand.

Erin stared at her hands for a moment before firmly repeating, "No." We moved slowly together despite the upbeat music. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she was smiling widely.

"Then how, may I ask, was your performance so perfect?"

Though I didn't believe it possible, her smile grew. "What can I say, I'm astounding."

So cheeky Erin was back after all. I rolled my eyes and spun her again, considering the Taillow. "Mirror

Move?" I guessed.

"You caught me," Erin replied, literally falling into my arms. She blushed and quickly spun away. "Tweal's father was a Pidgeot."

I was about to comment on the strange nature of her Taillow's name when Erin peered over my shoulder and said, "Oh look, there's Liam." I turned my head and saw the pesky kid leaning against the wall, talking to the blonde girl Erin had been dancing with before. Actually, I think the two were flirting from the way the girl kept laughing and moving closer to the kid. "Why isn't he dancing?" Erin mused.

Irked, I replied, "Who cares?"

Erin ignored me. "This is totally unacceptable! That boy must dance! He doesn't know what he's missing out on!" She pulled away from me and made her way toward the irritating teen.

I felt like I was the one missing out.

Seriously, what was with that kid? Why was Erin so interested in him? Perhaps, she liked… no I didn't want to consider that. Perhaps, she wanted to make me jealous. Yes, jealousy… well, two could play at that game.

I turned around to locate one of the girls I had danced with earlier, only to come face to face with a frantic looking Anita Parkwood.

This situation could not be more perfect.

"Jake, have you seen—"

I leaned in—

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

—and kissed me.

So much for being a psychic. I certainly didn't see this one coming.

The instant his lips touched mine, all thoughts and worries about finding Apple fled my mind. I had kissed once before, but it was _nothing_ like this.

If I had known he was going to kiss me, I would have slapped him. This is Jake Veneer we're talking about. The evil, annoying… sexy, delicious… G-d help me.

He had one arm wrapped around my waist and another hand cupping my chin. His lips were soft and gentle, paralyzing my body and shutting down my brain. All I wanted was to get closer to him…

Was he enjoying this as much as I was?

There were just too many feelings—so much yearning to close the distance between our minds, emotions, souls. I couldn't help myself; I slid into his mind…

He watched Erin. He _was_ enjoying himself; in fact, he seemed surprised that he was enjoying this more than his several other kisses… but it was almost all physical. Not nearly as much emotion as I was feeling…

He watched Erin. This was for her… he wanted to be kissing—

I abruptly shoved him away, disgusted.

"You…you… What have you done?" Anger flooded my mind. I was vaguely aware that a nearby light fixture exploded into a billion glass shards.

About to completely maul Jake Veneer, I was stopped suddenly by a shocking sight.

Erin was making out with Liam.

Mia, who had just been talking with Liam, looked like she might puke. Feelings of betrayal radiated from her; she stomped away angrily.

I watched in complete disbelief. And I thought our traveling group was already messed up…

Erin finally took a step back, but instead of smiling at Liam, she grinned evilly at Jake, snickered, and marched in the opposite direction of Mia. I noticed the restrooms were in that direction.

Remembering I still had to kill Jake, I turned around—only to find he had already disappeared.

Leaving me and Liam.

For a second we watched each other with a mixture of confusion and astonishment, trying to understand what had happened in the past five minutes. I'm not sure we ever would.

Distantly, I heard the DJ say, "And now a slow dance, dedicated to our birthday girl, Carly Goldenthrill…"

I blinked, feeling like I was forgetting something.

"Apple!" I exclaimed. Right, I was looking for Apple. She did not seem to be with Liam… "Liam, have you—" I started before realizing Liam's attention was not on me.

"Anita, will you dance with me?" Liam asked, his eyes darting across the crowd to his left.

"What?"

"You heard me; will you dance with me?"

"Why would I do that? I think you've had enough girls for the day—"

Carly appeared out of the crowd of people to Liam's left, her eyes focused on him. "Because," Liam quickly replied. "Otherwise I'll have to dance with Carly and you'll have to dance with Reece." He nodded to the right. Reece's tall figure could be seen pushing past teenagers in this direction.

"Oh, Liam," Carly sang. "It's my birthday! Will you dance with me?"

Liam smiled frostily. "Sorry, I already have a dance partner." He slung one arm around my waist and used his free arm to place my hand on his shoulder. I took a step closer to him so I could easily put both arms around his neck (to strangle him if necessary, of course).

Carly frowned and stomped away to Reece.

"Has it been like this all night?" I asked, amused.

"You don't know the half of it," Liam muttered darkly. "Actually, the only time I've been able to avoid her completely is when I'm with you." He raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Psychic barriers," I reminded him. "Though right now, I can't exactly do that."

"Believe me; nobody is sorrier than I am." He peered around. "She's not around anyway."

"Probably sulking…" I suddenly stopped swaying with the music, remembering my missing Pokemon. "Liam, where's Apple? Did you take her to be healed?"

"No, I did not see her after the battle. I assumed you picked her up."

"Shit," I said, starting to pull away.

And that's when the music stopped and the lights went out. Several people screamed.

Double shit.

Something flung me forward, into something hard. I tried to reach out with my psychic powers to figure out what all these "somethings" were, but I found that I couldn't. A thick rope seemed to bind me to the hard thing in front of me. My arms were tied around it, and I was helpless to stop whatever was holding me.

I managed to tilt my head upwards, and yelped in surprise when I found a pair of glowing green eyes staring down at me.

"Liam?" I asked.

"Yes," a voice above me replied.

"I'm tied to you."

"So I've noticed."

"What's going on?" I asked hesitantly. It was oddly comforting to have somebody to talk to in the midst of all this panic.

"I suspect we are being abducted. We can conclude that our abductees know of your psychic powers, as they most likely tied us together to stop your gift from working," Liam answered robotically, as if he was reading it out of a text book.

"Can you see what's happening?" I asked. Shrieks filled the air. Somewhere off to my right a couple of trainers were ordering their Pokemon to attack. I let out a yelp of fear when my feet came off of the ground.

"Obviously. We are currently tied together by thick green vines, and I believe there are a few others who have been tied by these vines. The vines are numerous and strong enough to lift us into the air, making me suspect the vines belong to a Tangela. A few trainers are attacking the vines, but I believe they are encountering problems because their vision is impaired. The rest of the teenagers are panicking."

"A Tangela?" I asked. I knew one person with a Tangela…

There was a flash of fire somewhere below me. The vines did not explode into flames as I expected. "That was Protect…" Liam muttered.

"Are these people idiots? If they use a fire attack, the whole place could burn down." I could tell we were being moved through the air from my hair rustling into my face.

"We're moving towards a doorway," Liam informed me.

"Lovely," I replied. I started to struggle, seeing if I could wiggle my way out of these vines.

"Ow!" Liam yelped. "Stop it! Are you trying to strangle me?"

"Well, you figure out a way out of this!"

"I've concluded that there _is_ no way out, and therefore have decided to save energy by not moving."

"So you're giving up?"

"No, I'm waiting for a more opportune time—you need to duck," Liam warned.

"How the hell am I supposed to—" something hit the back of my head. The world spun. I saw about forty green eyes. "Crap, that hurt," I said, dazed.

"The Tangela… miscalculated how high that doorway was."

"No shit."

The screams began to fade behind us. I supposed we were being reeled in to wherever the Tangela was. My stomach plummeted, indicating we were going downwards.

A few dark minutes later, we finally stopped moving. I felt my feet touch the ground.

The lights flickered on. Unused to the light, I had to blink several times before I could properly see. When my eyesight returned, the first thing I saw was a blur of bleached hair and amber eyes. "Reece," I hissed. "I knew you had a Tangela…"

Reece shrugged. He bent down out of my sight. I looked around. We were in some sort of storage room, probably in the party center's basement. There were several cardboard boxes along the white walls, and the ceiling was cracked. A small wooden doorway was in the corner of wall I was facing. It was hard to see much more because Liam was in the way…

"Anita! Liam!" I heard Erin's voice behind me.

"Hey Erin, how's it going?" I asked sarcastically. Liam rolled his eyes. "Who else is here?"

"Jake's tied up in the back corner. His mouth is covered with a vine though. Other than that, it's just us, Erin, Tweal, Apple, and Reece."

"Apple's in here!"

"Yes, but she is knocked out on the floor." So that's what happened to her…

"Tweal's tied up, too?"

"Yes."

"Can you see what Reece is doing?"

"I'm snapping Tangela's vines and tying them so he doesn't have to hold you," Reece answered. I felt my shoe being taken off.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Ensuring that you will not be able to use your powers." I felt my bare foot touch Liam's bare foot and shivered at the awkwardness. Reece was tying them together. Highly unnecessary, if you ask me. My hands were already tied around his neck.

"What do you want with us, Reece?"

Reece did not respond. He was apparently done tying us up and moved away, probably to Erin. The wooden door in the corner of the room opened.

Carly stepped through.

Figures.

"I knew Reece was too stupid to figure all of this out on his own!" I mock exclaimed.

Carly ignored me and walked out of my line of sight. "Excellent work."

_THUMP_

"You bitch! Don't touch my hair! Do you know how long it took me to style it like this? Fu—mmmhmmmmmmmm. Mmmh. Mhhhm!"

"Carly touched Erin's hair. Erin fell over in an attempt to bite Carly. A vine is now covering Erin's mouth," Liam explained before I could ask.

"What do you want, Carly? People are going to notice we're missing. They'll call the police!"

"By then, we will be long gone."

"Why did you take Apple before the rest of us?" I asked to see if that was indeed what had occurred.

"I assumed you would come looking for her. You were supposed to come down here yourself, but apparently you don't care about your Pokemon enough," Carly snickered. "We were forced to resort to more disruptive plans…"

Anger broiled in my blood. "What do you want?" I repeated. "Our Pokemon? Money?" My eyes flickered to Reece. "A blow job?"

"Nothing," Carly said.

"Nothing?" I asked in disbelief. "So you just decided to tie us up for fun?"

"Pretty much."

I felt a yank at the back of my head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Too many questions." Carly walked back into my sight. She placed a hand on Liam's head and ran it lovingly through his hair. "Can't avoid me now, can you?"

Liam narrowed his eyes and with precise aim, spat in her face.

"Nice one," I commented cheerfully. Carly used the sleeve of her dress to wipe her face, disgusted. I smirked. "Hey, Carly, if there is one upside to this situation, it's that I get Liam here all to myself." I leaned my head on Liam's shoulder to enforce the point. "Too bad you—"

Carly snapped her fingers and my mouth was covered with a vine instantly. Ah well, I knew I had it coming. Carly put her face close to mine. "I've always wanted to do this." I saw her raise her hand and I immediately closed my eyes. I winced as her hand connected with my face.

I saw stars again.

"Our work here is done," I heard Carly say. "Come on Reece, let's go." I watched the two leave the room, Reece holding his Tangela. We unfortunately were all still tied up by the Tangela's snapped-off vines, and Liam was the only one who could talk.

A few moments after the door slammed shut, Liam said, "Jump." He tried to jump, but because I didn't we ended up falling to the ground with a loud thump. Of course, my back landed on the hard floor. Liam, on top of me, was at least cushioned by my body.

I glared at him.

For whatever reason he started kicking the ground. "Make as much movement as possible," Liam ordered. I had no idea what he was trying to do, but Erin complied and started thumping the ground with her legs. Jake, I noticed, was too tied up to move any part of his body.

About five minutes later, something suddenly burst out of the ground.

"Diglett!"

"Diglett, slash these vines," Liam ordered. The Diglett obeyed, releasing Jake first, of course, because Jake was her trainer.

Finally, we were all free of the vines. I scooped Apple off of the ground as Jake explained, "—so then they tied me up when I was calling out for Diglett." He looked at Liam. "Man, if you knew to call Diglett by thumping around, why didn't you do it sooner?"

"They had a grass Pokemon," Liam answered coldly. "Calling Diglett while it was around would have been pointless."

Erin tried opening the door. She had been extremely quiet, and avoided even looking at Jake. Jake pretended that nothing was wrong. "It's locked," Erin announced.

"Slash," Jake ordered his Diglett. The door… well, it fell away in chunks. We climbed through the doorway. In front of us was a long spiral staircase, but to the left there was an elevator. I pressed the up button.

"What I don't get is why they captured us in the first place," I muttered as we clambered into the elevator. I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, trying to see if I could locate Carly or Reece. I couldn't find either. I did, however, find—

{Fiery!}

{So you _are_ alive. The police are looking for you.}

Through Fiery's eyes, I saw he was sitting in the large ball room the dance had been held in the party center. All of the lights were on, and the room was mostly empty. Napkins, cups, dead vines, and even a few shoes were strewn about the room. A couple of police were inspecting the area. One of the officers had a Machamp that was holding up a large metal gate—

The elevator door opened, and down the hall, I could see the Machamp. As we passed under the gate the Pokemon was holding up, I heard a nearby policeman mutter, "I don't understand why this gate came down…"

Mia and Andrew were waiting by Fiery, looking worried. When they spotted us, they ran over exclaiming, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Officer Jenny, her turquoise hair bobbing, walked over to us and grimly said, "I think we'd all like to hear that." Several police officers gathered around us.

I explained everything, leaving out the bit about my powers. When I was finished, one police officer said, "But that's impossible. Carly Goldenthrill was the first person to call the police. Several people said they saw her run out of the building for help."

"Are you sure it was Carly?" Officer Jenny asked.

"Yes, it was," I replied.

"Maybe she didn't see correctly?" one of the police officers suggested.

"We saw her, too," Erin answered. "It was definitely Carly Goldenthrill."

There was a murmur among the police officers. "There have been rumors of Team Glop'emm using hypnosis…" a policeman said. "Could it be?"

Angry that the police were so unwilling to listen, I yelled, "We weren't hypnotized!"

"How could you know?" the policeman retorted.

_Because one of us isn't affected by any form of psychic energy_, I wanted to scream. Another light fixture exploded.

Liam grabbed my arm. I glared at him and tried to tug away. He held steady and glared right back at me. "Control. Your. Emotions," he hissed, before releasing my arm.

Officer Jenny put a hand on my shoulder and said, "That's enough." She frowned at the police officer muttering about hypnosis. "It is extremely unlikely that these children have been hypnotized. There little proof of anything at the moment, except that there was indeed a Tangela in this room. We will continue investigating, but now it is time for these children to return to the Pokemon Center."

Officer Jenny lightly pushed us toward the door.

We took the cue and left.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The Pokemon Center was crowded, but because Apple only needed a simple heal, we were able to get back to our rooms fairly quickly. I left Apple with Nurse Joy and had to pick her up in about ten minutes.

As we walked down the austere hall back to our rooms, I made a request. "I think we should leave tonight."

"Are you insane?" Mia asked. "Do you know what time it is?"

Erin yawned. "Anita, it's one in the morning. Isn't it reasonable to just stay the night?"

In Erin's and Liam's minds, I said, {I'd like to see if I am able to locate Carly and Reece.}

Liam nodded slowly. "I'm with Anita."

Erin scowled. "Fine, I'll go pack." She turned to Mia and gave her a quick hug. "It was nice meeting you," she said. Then, in barely a whisper, she spoke: "And I'm sorry. I didn't know." Her voice was so quiet I may have been hearing it telepathically.

Mia nodded.

Erin shook hands with Andrew, ignored Jake who was standing with us, and backed into our room to pack.

Liam simply nodded to everyone, giving a particularly long look to Jake. They seemed to have developed a mutual respect for one another. Liam turned and exited into his room, next to mine and Erin's.

Mia and I hugged, promising we'd keep in touch and she and Andrew went off to bed (not together, to their _separate_ rooms, people).

Which left Jake.

Jake sighed. "Anita, I need to talk to you."

I jumped into his mind before he could say anything. {…feel bad about having to break it to her, but its best not to have any confusion in the future. I don't enjoy breaking hearts…}

I snapped back into my own head and glared at the twit. He was so arrogant he believed that just because he kissed me, I like-liked him! I mean, he was a good kisser, but that _does not_ make him a decent person! Ugh—he deserved this—

I thrust my fist forward in a well-practiced punch.

_CRUNCH_

I think that was his nose! Ooh, that had to hurt.

To add insult to injury, I declared, "Jake Veneer, you are an arrogant ass. Remember, that is what I have always and will always think of you, moron!"

I slammed the door in his face, feeling pretty good about myself.

Erin spotted my grin. "What are you so happy about?"

"I think I may have broken Jake's nose."

Erin smiled. "That _is _something to be happy about."

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

"Here's your Eevee. Have a good evening," Nurse Joy said tiredly. Apple jumped into my arms. There were less trainers waiting to get their Pokemon healed in the Pokemon Center's lobby when we exited the building. We quietly walked down the street.

{Where is everyone else?} was Apple's first question.

{Depending on who you are referring to, either in the Pokemon Center or in a Pokeball. Either way, they're probably sleeping,} I replied.

{Where are we going?} Why was Apple so inquisitive this late... oh wait, she was just knocked out for about five hours. That'd do it.

{We're going to find Carly and Reece.}

{Why would you want to find _those_ fruitcakes?} Apple asked.

{To eat them alive.}

{Good point. Fruitcakes are quite delicious.} Apple paused. {I think I must be missing something.}

{A few brain cells?} I suggested.

{So you finally admit I have a brain!} Apple exclaimed. {Thinking of which, can I have a peek into yours? I need to catch up…}

{If you must.}

{Thanks.} Apple sniffed the air. {I have one last question.}

{Ask away,} I replied dryly.

{Is there a reason I smell like an overgrown, tangled weed?}


	24. Mysteries

Chapter 22: Mysteries

I held the door open for the two teenagers as they walked into my office. While they sat down in their prepared chairs, I took my time locking the door and pulling down the black office window blinds. Finally, I slowly strutted across my room, pulled out my cushioned chair, and sat down across from the teenagers. I folded my hands atop the desk.

For a moment, I mused over the vast differences between the two teenagers. The blonde girl fidgeted with excitement, watching me eagerly. The boy, on the other hand, looked rather bored as he stared at a covered window. It was a wonder they were able to work so well together.

"You two have done exceedingly well," I said. "You shall be rewarded as promised."

The girl smiled brightly.

"_New Blue_, the world renowned clothing store, is having a nationally televised catwalk in Cereal City a month from now. I happen to have close ties to the president of _New Blue_." Team Glop'emm had bought out the company, after all. We used the numerous stores to locate potential customers of our stolen Pokemon. "I have arranged for you, Carly Goldenthrill, to be a model for this catwalk."

Carly squealed in delight.

"However, you will need to report to Cereal City immediately for preparations. I will, once again, have Gallade teleport you." Carly nodded happily, and I turned to the boy, frowning. "Is there anything you would like? Perhaps a spot in the catwalk as well?"

The boy smiled greedily. "Can I keep the Gallade?"

My frown deepened. This particular Gallade was one of the team's most successful Pokemon. He understood the concept of working for the greater good of the whole team and thus took orders from any team member if requested, no questions asked.

Well, sacrifices had to be made, and these two _had_ done an exceptional job. This way, I could wiggle in my own condition as well… "Very well, you may keep Gallade… under one circumstance. Should I require a favor in the future, you and Carly are obliged to assist me as needed." For now, there was no reason to continue using these two teens—I had what I wanted.

"Deal," Reece answered immediately. Carly frowned at him, as if he should have asked for her approval.

I smiled and reached into my pocket. "This is Gallade's Pokeball. You are dismissed." Once again, I held the door for the teenagers as they exited my office, relocking the door as soon as they had departed. I opened my laptop and settled back into my chair.

Carly and Reece had indeed provided beyond the basic information I had been seeking. For one, they had given me a very good idea of the strength of both gifted children's powers. I rewatched the clip of one of the very first scenes from the party, slowing the video as Carly yelled, "Thunderwave!" I carefully observed as the Eevee and Flareon leapt toward the electric bolt. Just before the two Pokemon were struck by the attack, they fell to the ground. I paused the video. If one looked carefully, a slight deflection of the electric bolt could be seen.

Anita Parkwood certainly had a strong gift, if she was indeed a child. It was only to be expected if the Master was correct in his assumption of her being Mew. This was just the first of several occurrences throughout the night in which she had illustrated her ability to create barriers. The fact that she was able to keep Carly and Reece away from her for practically the entire evening further manifested that she could sense their presence, perhaps even view their thoughts…

I froze. What if she _could_ read their minds? How limited was that ability? Had she discovered my existence? I considered her reactions through the rest of the evening and breathed again. No, I decided. She appeared too confused. Unless she was a brilliant actress, it seemed unlikely that she knew of me. Of course, if she was Mew, she would have to be a brilliant actress. I would just have to hope that if she did know, she would say nothing to the Mendol boy. In the future, I would be more careful.

I fast forwarded the video until I came across another scene involving the Master's so-called detective, Liam Mendol.

He certainly could be related to the Master—he had the same unnerving green eyes. Interestingly, he was also using the Master's last name, though why he would do anything so obvious was beyond me. The detective seemed an inch or two taller than I remembered the Master. It was impossible to consider any other similarities as I had never actually seen the Master in the light.

I watched the scene play out. On the right side of the screen, the Mendol boy was mingling on the outskirts of a crowd watching a battle. The left side of the screen was filled by Gallade, pretending to be some trainer's wandering Pokemon.

"Psychic," Reece ordered. I could not see Reece, as the camera was attached to his body.

Gallade's eyes glowed in concentration. I watched the Mendol boy. Nothing happened. Three more times Gallade tried, but the boy remained unaffected.

I smiled. This had confirmed the boy to have the same powers as the Master—

A stab of pain wretched through my gut. Why were _these_ children granted such power? If I had that kind of power…

I shook my head to rid myself of pointless yearnings.

I fast forwarded again—this time to the final scenes of the evening. I watched as Carly implemented her ingenious plan of using Mendol's gift against him in order to carry out my other request…

I opened the desk drawer and pulled out four small covered vials, each containing a single hair.

I smiled. Carly had even thought to obtain the hair of Jake Veneer, who appeared extremely well acquainted with the three persons I had originally requested a hair from.

I closed the laptop and picked up the vials. It was time to put the hair to good use. I silently strode out of my office to the elevator, pressing B5.

As I swiftly left the elevator, I brushed past Rita Teal, her Pokeball earings jiggling wildly from the slight impact. Rita sent a silent scowl my way before the elevator doors closed.

I walked down the tiled hall and turned into the bare room with the DNA tracking device, my finger print scanned at the door.

Carefully, I took the vials from my pocket and uncorked each one. Using tweezers, I plucked the four hairs from their vials and placed them in four of the DNA tracking device's slots.

The Mendol boy's hair was the last I fed into the machine. I examined the dark hair, wishing I could somehow obtain the DNA of the Master or his deceased father so I could run a comparative analysis to demonstrate the detective's relation to the Master. Unfortunately, the Master was sure to clear the system of any information on his family's DNA records in order to avoid being tracked. I sighed and dropped the final hair into the machine's slot.

There was a whirring sound, and then a cluster of multi-colored dots appeared on the screen. Before I could smile in victory, the irritable walkie-talkie was buzzing on my hip.

"Master, I presume," I said into the walkie, answering its buzz.

"Never presume." The Master's cold voice rang through the walkie.

"Of course." I briefly wondered if I would ever actually speak with the mysterious detective. He had yet to call me, or I him.

"How is business?" the Master inquired.

"The usual," I answered easily.

"Excellent. Is there any new information regarding Pokemon X?"

I looked at the dots on the tracking device's screen and smirked to myself. "Nothing, Master."

The annoying boy paused before requesting, "Tell me, Mr. Arkle, what do you know of Carly Goldenthrill and Reece Dracuta?"

"Of the former, I only know that she gave us much valuable information regarding Anita Parkwood. I have never heard of Reece Dracuta," I replied innocently. "Why do you ask?"

"My detective—nevermind. It was nothing," the Master retorted. Then, composing his voice, he calmly continued, "No further information, Master out."

I put down the walkie-talkie next to the slots and stared at the blinking dots. I would not be losing track of Liam Mendol, the oh-so-spectacular detective, nor Anita Parkwood, the supposed legendary, any time soon.

I grinned.

For now, _that_ was satisfying.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I pocketed the walkie-talkie, deep in disconcerted thought.

How did they know?

How did Carly Goldenthrill and Reece Dracuta learn of the dark gift?

So few humans knew of the gift in the first place…

Mr. Dracuta, certainly, knew of Miss Parkwood's powers since the Peepin Pond incident, but who could have explained to him the occurrence in full? Perhaps they had done research and grown curious… but from the characteristics displayed by Mr. Dracuta and Miss Goldenthrill, this seemed highly improbable.

I was the only person who originally knew of the detective's gift. Miss Parkwood and Miss Kendle, of course, soon discovered it, but they had neither the nature nor the time to inform Miss Goldenthrill and Mr. Dracuta—

Stop.

I forced my brain to discontinue the endless circles of thought. Regarding this matter, I obviously did not have enough information to make an accurate assessment.

No harm had yet come from this disclosed secret. It would be unwise to forget the matter entirely, but foolish to dwell on a matter of such minimal importance.

At this instant, it was vital for me to continue my research. Research that had failed to uncover any new information—yet.

My father had known the necessary information.

He, however, had passed on before giving it to me. He had not kept any written record of the information, nor revealed the information to anyone that I was aware of.

Thus, I had to find this most crucial information.

I had searched many of Acceber's great libraries, only to come up with nothing.

I would continue to search—

For without this information, finding and capturing Mew would be quite futile.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Isn't hitchhiking illegal?" Erin whispered.

"Does it actually matter to you?" I retorted in a voice just as quiet.

"Well, no…"

A breeze swept past us, filling our nostrils with a stench of moldy socks and decomposing biscuits. We sat in a small alley behind several trashcans watching two workers unload a large grocery store supply truck of hundreds of boxes.

Yes, we had stooped to this level.

"Hitchhiking was outlawed in 1964 due to a series of unfortunate accidents as well as low ratio of cars to trainers in Acceber—" Liam started to explain.

"If I wanted to know that, I would have paid attention in history class," I snapped.

Liam just gave me his best all-knowing, I'm-better-than-you smirk.

{Do you think they'll unload all of the food?} Apple asked randomly. {Maybe just leave a crate or two behind…?}

"Anita, look!" Erin exclaimed. "That was the last box! You've got to do it now!"

One of the workers was now pulling down the truck's flexible back door to close the vehicle. I summoned my energy and shot forward with my mind, creating a thin barrier beneath the closing door.

I flinched as the door slammed down, but my barrier held. The worker walked back around the truck towards the store, oblivious to the inch gap between the door and the floor of the truck.

"C'mon!" Erin sprinted towards the truck. Liam and I carefully followed her, me double-checking the area for people with my mind and Liam with his eyes. When we reached the truck, Erin was tugging at the door impatiently. "You guys are so slow!" she complained. "Ugh. This is too heavy. Liam, why don't you give it a try?"

"No!" I yelled, but it was too late. Liam touched the door—

—and nothing happened.

Liam easily lifted up the door.

Confused, I asked, "Didn't my barrier stop working on the door?"

"Anita, though you seem to believe yourself more knowledgeable than the rest of the world, you, in fact, are lacking in the most basic knowledge: common sense. Obviously, your barrier failed when I touched the door," Liam snickered. He slowed his speech. "However, because I was holding the door with my hand," He mockingly wiggled his hand in my face. "I was able to _lift_ the door. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir Liam. I understand," I replied sarcastically. I flashed him a smile. "What I don't understand, _Sir Liam_, is how you came to be full of such crap. You think I'm conceited? Take a look in the mirror!"

Liam shook his head, half-smiling, like he knew something I did not. He stepped gracefully into the truck, and Erin clambered after him, slamming the door shut behind her (which promptly locked).

"Erin, turn on the flashlight," I demanded, still annoyed.

I heard a ruffling as Erin searched for the flashlight in her bag. "Aha!" A light flickered on, and I got a good glimpse of the dull, empty vehicle before the light flickered back out.

There were a few scratching noises followed by a final bang.

I could only assume the worst.

"The flashlight is broken," I stated.

"Yup," Erin answered.

"You were trying to turn it back on."

"Yup."

"But you failed and threw it against the wall in frustration, thus destroying any chance we had of fixing the flashlight."

"Well, I guess…"

The only light came from Liam's eyes. They followed me as I felt my way to the side of the truck and slumped down. "This is great," I said bitterly.

{No, it's not! There's no food in here!} Apple interrupted.

"Our PokeTechs have built in lights," Erin suggested.

"No, no. I'd rather just sit here in the dark and wallow in self-pity," I replied icily.

"Not conceited at all," Liam murmured.

"Do you have anything better to do?" I shot at the pair of green eyes.

"Actually, yes. We can discuss where Carly and Reece disappeared to and why they captured us in the first place," Liam answered.

Erin groaned. "Not this again! We've been over this about twenty gazillion times! Can't we just forget the whole thing?"

"Aw, but then you wouldn't remember your passionate kiss with little Liam," I snickered.

Even though it was dark, I could practically feel the heat radiating from her face. "Liam knows that was done out of… spite. It doesn't change our relationship—right Liam?"

"I try not to involve myself in the ridiculous workings of hormone-driven female teenagers. Can we get back to the topic I wish to discuss?"

"Teleportation," I grumbled.

"That _would _be the first thing you think of," Liam harshly accused. "We do not know whether they even have a Pokemon that knows teleport."

I shrugged. "It's the fastest way I know of to get out of place without leaving a trail. It'd also explain how they got the Tangela inside with the PPC's one-Pokemon rule."

"They might have just driven off in a truck or car! I mean, look at what we're doing!" Erin exclaimed. As if on cue, the truck's engines rumbled. We started to move.

"I guess it's possible…" I trailed.

"…but highly improbable," Liam finished. "As I said before, there are very few vehicles in Acceber. Pokemon often make that technology superfluous."

"So they could have left on a Pokemon," Erin suggested.

"Which brings us back to the point that they do not have any Pokemon that can perform such tasks," Liam said.

"That we know of," I chipped in.

{Does anyone else feel like this discussion is pointless and that there is no benefit to continuing with it?}

{That is generally what the word pointless implies,} I replied dryly. {Liam's the one started it. File a complaint to him!}

{Obviously I can't exactly do that.}

{Right. _I'm_ the psychic one. Whatever.} I interrupted one of Erin's rants by clearing my throat. "Apple thinks this conversation is pointless and would like us to shut up so she can take a nap because we kept her up all night searching for Carly and Reece."

{I didn't say that!} Apple objected.

{But you agree.}

{Well… yeah.}

Erin yawned. "I'm with Apple." I heard a bit of shuffling. "This isn't too bad. I can probably fall…" A loud snore erupted from Erin's nose.

Yup, that's how quick Erin was conked out.

Liam rolled his eyes.

{Now that you mention it, I could do with a nap…}

"Goodnight," I said to both Liam and Apple.

Liam's eyes flickered to me before closing, obliterating all light in the truck. I too shut my eyes and drifted through dreams of moonlit darkness.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I woke up when the dancing lollipops started to chase me, relieved that my dream was not reality. The complete darkness disoriented me as I sat up. I could not tell what time it was, but I had deduced the truck was no longer moving from the lack of a rumbling sound beneath me.

"Anita, Liam, wake up!" I called as I stood up to stretch my sore back.

"I'm already up," Anita answered stiffly.

Liam's glowing eyes opened, making the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up—those eyes were awfully disturbing.

"I think we've arrived," I stated.

Liam walked across the truck. There was a soft clicking noise as he unlocked the door and flung it open. I cringed as the bright light streamed into my face.

Eventually, my sight returned enough to follow Liam out of the truck. Anita followed me carrying Apple, who continued to nap in Anita's arms.

I looked around, expecting to see my comfortable home town of Cape Caution. It would be good to see my family, my old lab, Professor Blubber…

Unfortunately, all I saw was a bunch of thick trees and a tiny dirt road. "This isn't Cape Caution," I stated dumbly. I looked accusingly at Liam. "You said the truck was headed for Cape Caution!"

Liam looked thoughtful. "According to the schedule, it was." He closed the truck door and started walking towards the front of the truck. I looked to Anita to exchange out usual annoyed glance when Liam started acting weird, but her expression was oddly blank. Liam returned. "The driver is not in the truck."

"Maybe he had to pee?" I suggested.

"We should look for him," Anita said.

"When he could be peeing?" I exclaimed. "No thanks!"

"We'll wait a few moments. If he does not return we will go looking," Liam decided.

He did not come. So maybe he was taking a dump…

"Anita, can you sense him anywhere?" I asked.

Anita did not answer. Instead, she walked past me into a more wooded area.

"Yes?" Could she just give me a definitive answer?

Anita nodded slightly, hopefully to answer me, and kept walking. Liam and I followed.

After about three minutes of silent, dreadfully boring walking, a huge run-down mansion appeared among the trees. "We should go inside," Anita said.

What was with her? She must have woken up on the wrong side of the truck… or something along those lines.

"I'm not sure we should," I replied. "He might be a drug dealer, and this is where he stores the drugs."

"We should go inside," Anita repeated.

I looked at Liam; he, too, seemed to think Anita was acting particularly strange and was staring at her in contemplation.

Just then, several things happened at once.

There was a loud roar of an engine from behind us, and some nearby animal or Pokemon squealed in fear. I tripped in surprise on top of Anita, causing Apple to wake up growling. Hurriedly, I picked myself up. As usual, due to Anita's ideas we were in trouble—the truck was leaving! I tried to scramble towards the truck, only to be stopped by Liam grabbing my arm.

"It is too late," Liam said.

"Liam, you piece of poop! We have to catch that truck!" I yelled as I uselessly struggled forward.

After two minutes, I gave up because the truck was long gone, I was tired, and for whatever reason, Apple was still growling.

"Liam's right. It is silly to chase the truck," Anita said eerily. Was she on drugs? She seemed fine before she fell asleep…

"Eevee eeeeee! Eevee, eeveevee! Eevee!" Apple barked at Anita.

"Why's Apple so mad?" I asked.

"She's upset because…" Anita paused. "She is hungry. There was no food in the truck."

"Figures," I muttered, but Apple continued to growl.

"Let's go inside," Anita said, smiling brightly now. "It will be fun." She started off for the sinister mansion again.

I mouthed, "What the hell is she smoking?" to Liam before following.

Liam shrugged. "It _is_ logical. We have no idea where we are and have nowhere else to turn."

The house ahead of us became creepier and creepier as we neared it. A thick fog seemed to linger at our feet, and our crackling shoes seemed to disturb the pressured silence of the woods.

When we reached the wooden, spider-web covered porch, it took every ounce of my courage not to take a hint from my first instinct and bolt. Apple, apparently, had the same instinct. She growled even louder. "Are you sure about this?" I asked.

Anita continued to smile, and she absentmindedly picked up Apple. For a moment, I thought the Eevee would bite her, but the Pokemon settled for a continuous deep growl. Occasionally Apple would throw glances at me and Liam, almost a pleading look in her eyes.

Liam knocked on the door and rang the doorbell. I silently counted sixty seconds and then snapped my fingers. "Oh well! Nobody's home! Let's get going."

Liam did not move and Anita only moved closer to the house. Not very encouraging signs… What was wrong with their instincts?

Anita twisted the bronze door handle of the plain wooden door, and the door, unfortunately, swung open. Now I felt like I was in a horror movie. Seriously, insert foreboding music here.

Anita and Liam both entered the house, which I thought was pretty intrusive. I hesitated. Sadly, there was no way I was going to stay on this freaky porch alone so I had no choice but to follow.

The inside of the house was just as covered in spider-webs as the outside. A thick layer of dust covered the floor of the room we entered into, along with several antique chairs and picture frames. What I found most unnerving were the footprints in the dust scattered about the room. The prints were so far apart… It looked like someone hopping on one foot had easily leapt ten feet.

Liam bent down to examine one of these peculiar footprints, leaving a footprint trail of his own in the dust. Anita, in the meantime, strode directly through the room to the next door. "This way," she said.

Liam looked up at her and then at me. I shrugged and started forward. Abruptly, the hairs on my arms rose. A dark purple mist surrounded me, gently brushing my sides, and making my breath come up short.

Alright, this was way creepy. I tried to lower the pace of my racing heart and raspy breaths, but failed. Air rushed past my face, then a sharp, tickly feeling—something was nibbling my ear!

I screamed like I would if my shrinkable wardrobe ever caught on fire.

I heard a faint, echoing laughter, and then it was gone, leaving me scared out of my wits and panting heavily.

Liam was staring at me, his brow furrowed. Anita also watched me, holding Apple tightly despite the Eevee's thrashing. "What was that?" I gasped. "Did it happen to you, too?"

Liam and Anita both shook their heads. "Eevee! Eevee!" Apple exclaimed, nodding.

Not knowing what to make of the scene, and not wanting any further problems, I reached to my belt to release Griffy. My hand slapped my butt. I tried again—

Nothing there.

Where were my Pokeballs!

"My Pokemon are missing!" I shouted.

Liam's eyes flickered darkly to my belt, then to Anita's, and finally to his own. His hand brushed over his own belt. "My Pokemon are still here," he said slowly.

"Mine are gone," Anita said without even checking.

I waved my hands wildly at Liam. My Pokeballs were missing and we were just standing here! "Do something!" I yelled. "You still have Pokemon!"

Liam frowned. "They are of no use in this situation."

"I think I know what happened to them," Anita said, her face no longer smiling. "Follow me." She stepped into the next room, and flickered on the lights, which I would not have thought to look for in a house like this.

The room I followed Anita into shocked me. It was a spotless kitchen. Beautiful wooden cabinets gleamed in their dark glaze, the white tiled floor sparkled as if untouched, and the steel refrigerator had not one fingerprint.

Liam peered into what might have been a closet and then opened the refrigerator wide. There was food.

"Come on." Anita gestured to the next room, and we followed obligingly. The next rooms were the same as the kitchen, clean and perfect. We walked down as twisted hall, viewing a bathroom, some type of lounge, and a staircase.

Finally, we came to a set of wooden doors engraved with several swirls. I swear, for a second, purple air seeped out around the doors, but I blinked and no trace of purple remained.

Anita led us through the doors into a room that appeared to be a library. Books were stacked as high as the ceiling on long wooden shelves. A single chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting the room along with the grand window across the entire back of the room. In the center of the room, there were several cushioned couches.

Above these couches floated a Gengar and a Misdreavus, the latter watching me with a wide grin.

The Gengar, I observed, was looking at the couch. I turned my attention to the plush piece of furniture, and to my surprise, found myself looking into the silver eyes of a young boy.

A shiver ran down my back.

The pale boy smiled. "I'm so glad you guys came!"

I looked at Liam, who was expressionless as usual, and Anita, who appeared completely baffled. She put her hand on her head as she asked, "Where are we?"

"Four miles southwest of Cape Caution," the boy answered, tilting his head so his blond hair—so light it was almost white—fell away from his face.

Anita looked even more confused and she turned her attention to Apple, who was now quiet and well behaved. They appeared to be having some sort of deep telekinetic conversation. "I must be dreaming," I thought I heard Anita mutter.

I turned to the blonde boy. "Who are you? Where are your parents? What's with the creepy house and ghost Pokemon? Did you take our Pokemon? Where are they?" I demanded.

The Misdreavus playfully flipped through the air and whisked around my head.

"She's taken a liking to you," the boy commented sadly. Then he reached toward the Gengar. "This is Scary—"

"You betcha," I muttered.

"—my friend and family. He's taken care of me and played with me for a while. My name is Melvin, but I like Mel better. This is my home." He gestured around him.

"Where are our Pokemon?" I repeated.

Mel glanced at me embarrassedly, before saying, "They're safe."

I wanted to kick the kid in the face, but that might qualify as child abuse… I think. I'm still considered a child at age fourteen so that might change the charges or something. In any case, I then asked, "Why are we here?" because he seemed to have stolen our Pokemon. I figured he must want something in return.

The boy frowned. "I was lonely. I've been begging Scary forever to let me play with actual people—it gets boring playing with ghosts all the time—but he wouldn't disobey my father. I don't know where my father went… Scary and I were running out of food and then Scary saw the food truck passing by so he pulled it over. There wasn't any food, but there was you three! That was even better! Now you can stay here and play with me!"

"We're here because you needed someone to play with?" I asked in disbelief.

The boy smiled widely. "Yup! Aren't you excited?"

I grimaced. "Look, kid, I'm sorry you're lonely, but I'm not playing with you until you give me my Pokemon back." I glanced at Liam and Anita to judge their reactions. Liam watched the boy intently, his eyes narrowed, but Anita was oblivious to the world, apparently still engrossed in her conversation with Apple.

The boy frowned and stuck his chin out stubbornly. "No. I'm not giving them back until you play with me."

"Play what?" Liam interrupted.

"Everything!" the boy exclaimed.

Liam looked thoughtfully at the boy. "How about we make a deal. We will play any game you wish, but afterward, you will give Anita and Erin their Pokemon back."

"How about they only get their Pokemon back if you guys win. If I win, you get to stay and play more with me!"

How did this child know how to make deals? Seriously, how old was this kid?

"Deal," Liam answered, not even bothering to check with me and Anita. Did he understand his little bet affected all of us, not just his self-absorbed butt? "What game?"

The boy grinned. "Hide-n-go-seek. I hide, and if you can find me in fifteen minutes, you win."

Alright, maybe Liam made a good choice. This would be too easy. "What do we count to?" I asked.

"Counting…" the boy chuckled. "That's a good one. There's no need to be so generous."

Then he disappeared.

Well, that couldn't be any good.


	25. Cackle Attack

Chapter 23: Cackle Attack

The boy was gone. Poof. The Gengar disappeared, too, though the Misdreavus remained floating by my side.

Anita looked around the room past Apple. She seemed to have just returned to the real world. "Erin, Liam—" She spoke rapidly. "He's—" Anita calmed. "He's somewhere in the house," she said quietly. "I read his mind before he disappeared."

Apple started growling again.

Suddenly, as everything in this house seemed to happen suddenly, the Gengar appeared out of thin air, holding a small metal cage, his eyes glowing. Apple was lifted into the air above the chandelier and put into the cage, which remained floating by the Gengar.

Apple yowled, but there was nothing we could do. Liam was too far away from Apple to stop the psychic attack.

"Anita, stop him!" I yelled. She was a psychic, too, after all.

Anita frowned. "I can't." She giggled slightly—or coughed—it was hard to tell. "We'd better start looking."

Liam watched Scary and Apple (who was still howling) suspiciously. "You could use your Pokemon," I suggested to Liam, trying not to sound accusing. I didn't want to cause him any personal pain, but in situations like this, sacrifices sometimes had to be made.

"This is not an emergency," Liam replied stoically.

_Do not smack Liam,_ I thought. _Do not smack Liam._ Slightly more composed, I asked, "What do you call our situation then?"

Liam paused. "A complication."

I turned to Anita for moral support, but she was already heading for the library door. "You're going to leave Apple?" I asked her.

"We must find Mel. We only have fifteen minutes." She left the room. I sighed and bent over to look under the couch. There was nothing—not even a layer of dust.

When I came back up, Liam was sitting on the couch, watching Apple. "What are you doing? We only have fifteen minutes!" I exclaimed.

"I'm thinking."

"About how screwed over we are? The boy freakin disappeared in front of out eyes!"

"Exactly. We are clearly missing some piece of vital information." He glanced at me. "I believe Apple knows. I think she has been trying to get Anita to believe something important. This theory would explain both Apple's and Anita's strange behavior… Apple, is this so?"

Apple nodded and then shook her head.

"Well, that was helpful," I snickered.

Liam closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "A disappearing boy…. It could be an illusion, another ghost Pokemon, teleport, magic…"

"Magic?" I raised my eyebrows. That was the last word I would have expected Liam to use in a serious tone.

"Magic is all that is unexplained. The unexplained remains magic until it is understood."

I rolled my eyes. "Magic is when people wave sticks and stuff happens."

"No, that's baseball." Liam opened his eyes and rose.

"Did you have an epiphany?" I asked hopefully.

"No. I must know what Apple was telling Anita. Perhaps…" Liam shook his head. I got the feeling he was not telling me everything but decided not to pursue the matter. I had learned that Liam liked to do everything himself. If he needed some information or suggestion, he would ask.

We jogged back through the twisted hallways until we arrived in the kitchen. We found Anita looking through a cabinet under the stainless steel sink. How much time did we have left? I did not wear a watch. Maybe eight minutes…

"Anita, we need to know what Apple is growling about," Liam said.

Anita looked up from her search. "It was nothing. Apple is still hungry."

"I didn't think Apple got this upset over food… usually," I commented.

Anita smiled. "Then you don't know Apple."

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Anita, we need to know what is really occurring."

Anita's eyes darted around the room. "Nothing is going on," she answered hastily. Then she got up and quickly walked toward the door leading to the dusty room.

Liam blocked her way. She attempted to dodge around him, but he grabbed her arm.

Anita suddenly froze, staring right at Liam.

I hurried over. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. When there was no response, I waved my hand in front of her blank face. "Anita?"

"Help me…" she uttered.

Liam released his grip in shock. Anita stumbled backwards and fled into another tiled room adjacent to the kitchen. She slammed the door.

I made to follow her, but Liam ordered, "Stop!"

"She's going to get away!" I shouted.

Liam shook his head. "It is a dead end. I saw when we walked through here earlier."

I frowned. "Aren't we going to follow her?"

"Yes… but I have to explain what I believe is occurring, without Anita hearing—"

"Why?" I interrupted.

Liam held up his hand, flashing me an annoyed glance to indicate he was not finished speaking. "I believe the boy is gifted—ghost type."

I blinked a few times. "But the odds of that…"

"I know. The odds are against us, but still, consider. Apple has been acting exceedingly peculiar; Apple knows. Apple and Anita communicate regularly through telepathy so she would be the first to realize the problem. In addition, just now…" Liam paused. "You understand how Anita's powers do not affect me, correct?"

I nodded.

"Gift types work exactly like Pokemon types. Consider a ghost type gift. A person with such a gift would likely be able to turn invisible, fade through walls, and possess others… and what would a ghost type be effective against?"

I gasped. "Psychic."

Liam nodded. "As the boy is still young, it is unlikely that his power is strong. I doubt he could possess a normal person for very long, if at all. Anita, however, would be easily possessed."

"Suppose you're right. How could you unpossess Anita and find the boy?"

"Remember when I touched Anita? That's what confirmed my suspicions. By making physical contact with her, I cancelled her powers out, making her more difficult to possess. She managed to mutter a plea…"

"So if you just touch her for a longer time…"

Liam nodded. "That's the theory."

"Well, what are we standing here for?" I twisted the doorknob, revealing a small laundry room.

The room was empty.

I opened a cabinet. Then another. And another—soon every nook Anita could have been hiding in was visible, and she still hadn't been found.

"And you did not chase her because…" I glared at Liam.

"I did not believe the boy was powerful enough to turn invisible or fade through walls while possessing Anita. Clearly, I was mistaken."

"Genius," I muttered. "Maybe you're wrong. The boy could just be a ghost or a ghost Pokemon or something."

"Perhaps, but how would you explain the footprints?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, not wishing to reveal that I secretly thought he made a good point, and tapped my long nails on the slick counter in thought.

Liam watched the purple cloud of smoke that had been following me. When a pair of eyes appeared in the smoke, he asked, "Will you assist us in finding Melvin?"

There was a ghostly chuckle as the cloud faded.

I smiled suddenly.

We didn't have to find Melvin; we could make him come to us.

"Ugh, this game is soooo boring!" I exclaimed. "We should just give up! Don't you think?"

Liam simply stared at me in frustration.

I winked.

"Sure," Liam said warily.

I spoke louder. "I wish Mel would just come out of his hiding spot already. It is so silly to keep playing this boring game when I know so many games that are much more fun. We're wasting valuable time!"

I whirled around as the door swung open and—voila—Anita stood in the doorway.

"Are y—we really giving up?" she asked.

Liam lunged and grabbed her arm, twisting her around so he could grasp both arms behind her back to prevent escape.

"Wha—" Anita started. "Let go!" she demanded.

"Nope," Liam answered, smirking. "We found you, Melvin."

Anita glared at Liam. "Let go! Melvin's in the library! I came to tell you…"

"Give it up Melvin. I know you cannot stay in that body much longer."

"Seriously, check the other room," Anita sputtered.

Liam changed strategies. "Anita, will you take your body back already?"

"I am in my own body, moron!"

"You can do it, Anita!" I cheered. She frowned in response.

"I guess I overestimated your strength," Liam taunted.

Anita's head snapped around angrily, and she attempted to elbow Liam in the gut. This failed, of course. Anita slumped over, her face blank. Liam loosened his grip.

"That's right. Keep fighting," Liam cooed. Yes, I mean he cooed. It was such a bizarre sound coming from Liam's mouth that despite our situation I started laughing.

Suddenly, Anita's eyes snapped open. She twisted out of Liam's grasp and sprinted forward. After about a second of hesitant shock, Liam and I both ran after her. Liam was faster, and soon I could only just see a swish of black shirt as I raced down the twisted halls.

The library doors were sprawled open, and Liam was once again restraining Anita. "Look at the couch," Anita managed to gasp. Liam and I looked.

There was Melvin.

Liam hastily released Anita and took a step back.

"Oh…"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

What the hell was his problem?

Stupid Liam…

"So tell us how you got rid of Melvin," Erin said.

_I struggled wildly to no avail until Apple told me I might be able to regain my body by creating a barrier in my mind and slowly expanding it. I tried, failed, so Apple ended up doing it for me._ Good explanation right? Ehh, once again, stupid Liam…

"I made a barrier in my mind. It was a lot harder and less effective on a ghost type, but Melvin's powers aren't as developed as mine," I grumbled. It had been harder _(for Apple)_ to create a barrier to stop the Gengar from helping Melvin. I think the fact that the Pokemon is half poison is the only reason the barrier actually held…

I sat on one of the ridiculously over-plushed couches in the creepy library, silently fuming at Liam because my voice was hoarse from yelling. Melvin was still lying unconscious on a couch directly across from the one I was sitting on. Liam sat next to Melvin, barely touching the boy's skin in an attempt to suppress the boy's powers should he wake up. While I continued to glare angrily at him, he returned a cool, bored gaze.

_Liam is stupid._ I just couldn't get away from that, could I?

Inadvertently, all this glaring and staring caused us to begin a tacit staring contest. Seconds ticked by… I heard a nearby shuffle. Probably Erin—she was searching the house for a ladder. When my eyes began to water, Liam smirked slightly. Tears streamed down my face, but I refused to blink—

{ANITA!}

My concentration broke. Surprised, I looked up at Apple, who was still stuck in the floating cage above my head, as the Gengar had once again, disappeared. A knot of guilt tightened in my stomach. I was supposed to be psychically searching for the Gengar…

{It took you long enough. Do you know how long I've been trying to get your attention while you and Mr. Intensity have been goggling at each other?}

{Hey, he started it! And I wasn't going to just give in!}

{Then congrats on taking competitive to a ridiculous level. Anyway, I found Scary Face!}

{Erm, scary face is an attack. One I suppose you could use often.}

{No, I meant the Gengar.} I rolled my eyes at Apple. {He's floating right above Melvin, actually, invisible.}

{Then why don't you, the amazing psychic Eevee, tell him to release you. Or better yet, why don't you just psychically get yourself out of the cage.}

{Uh, maybe 'cause you're the only one who knows about the whole psychic thing?}

I scowled and said sarcastically, {I know, I know. It just gets annoying, you know. Always rescuing people, saving the day, doing hero stuff.}

{Snot head!}

{Scary face!} Before Apple could retort, I focused my attention on the Gengar, knowing Apple wouldn't disturb me. I sensed the Pokemon hovering, but instinctively shied away. I tried again. {Yo, Scary?} I felt the Gengar turn toward me in surprise. {Hey, you can hear me! Will you please release Apple? And can we have our Pokeballs back?}

{I will not help those who hurt Melvin.}

{Are you kidding me? The kid got himself hurt!}

{Even if that were the case, I would not take any action without Melvin's permission.}

I broke off the connection with Scary, annoyed. Liam raised a questioning eyebrow at me, but before I could say anything, Erin burst through the doors, screaming loudly. "What the hell! Will you stop bothering me! Go away!" There was nothing behind her. She swatted the air uselessly.

I watched incredulously and Apple burst into laughter.

A purple mist seemed to seep through the floor around Erin's feet. "Eeep!" she screeched, before jumping away and sprinting toward the couches.

Liam stood up, probably to move out of the way, but Erin had other ideas. She jumped into the arms of a wide-eyed Liam, who promptly dropped her on her butt. Erin jumped back up, rubbing her sore butt and flicking her eyes around the room intently.

Curiously, I stretched out my powers, and sensed another Pokemon. {Hello?}

{Jello?} a voice replied.

{Um, who are you?}

{Dumb, poo far too!}

{Right then.}

{Fright ten!} A whispery voice cackled softly, and a cool breeze pricked my neck. I froze standing completely still as the breeze enwrapped my body, and then left. {Boo!} It took me a moment to realize that the sound was not a short "Boo"—the type meant for scaring—but a long "Boo," an irked "Boo." {The girl over there reacts much more funnier.}

I winced at the bad grammar, and looked about for the source of my chills. {I'm sorry—} I started talking, but the creature continued, {Now she's went to the bad-tasting boy. I don't like the tasting-bad boy, but I want to haunt her.} A purple smoke appeared and materialized into the Misdreavus we had seen by Melvin earlier.

{That is a dilemma,} I agreed, coming up with a way to take advantage of the situation. {I know! If you get the Eevee out of the cage above me, I'll get the girl you like away from the yucky boy!}

{Don't, Missy,} Scary said sharply. {She's not your master.}

Missy, apparently the Misdreavus, let out another chilled laugh before swooping towards Apple's cage. {Mel isn't neither. And neither are you. Neither is a funny word. Sounds like I need-fur or need-her or need-to-purr…} Missy stared at me a moment. {You better hold up your end of the deal, or it's you I be haunting.}

The lock on the cage popped open, and Apple was dumped out. I dived forward, catching Apple as I skidded across the floor.

{Wow, you sacrificed Erin's sanity for me! I feel loved!} Apple exclaimed.

{Sanity?}

{Ghosts are known from time to time to drive people completely berserk. What do you expect when someone's constantly invading your mind?}

{I think I know the feeling,} I retorted dryly.

{Hey!}

Knowing I should feel guilty about this, I frantically called as I dusted my pants off, "Hey Erin, come look at this!"

Erin, thinking something was wrong, hurried over. Ha! See, Erin's not the only one with mad acting skills!

{Don't push it,} Apple commented.

The Misdreavus immediately enwrapped Erin in a purple mist and both disappeared, Erin's high pitched squeal clashing with the Missy's cackle. {Um, should I be worried?} I asked mildly.

Apple shrugged as I slumped back on a couch. Not a great sign.

Liam looked at me. "Should I even ask?"

I shook my head.

"Yeah, they'll come back eventually," Mel said. Wait, Mel said?

Melvin, was sitting up, probably woken by the excessive noise. "You, little boy, have some explaining to do," I scolded. The boy struggled against Liam's grip for a few seconds and then sat still. One of his fingers disappeared, and for a second I thought the rest of his body would follow, but the finger reappeared quickly.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell us what your problem is and where our Pokemon are," I told the boy. "Care to get started?"

"Why can't I disappear?" the boy asked, his upper lip trembling.

"Liam's weird that way. Now get on with it, kid," I demanded.

"Stop being so mean!" Mel cried and then burst into tears.

Aw, shit.

{Nice going, Anita.}

{You couldn't have done any better,} I snapped.

{You couldn't have done any worse.}

"Scary, get me out of here!" Mel yelped while Liam shot an angry glare at me.

Before Scary could even move, I created a psychic barrier around the ghost, which was quickly enforced by Apple. Liam's glare turned into a curious gaze.

"Half poison," I reminded him.

"Who-who, are y-you?" the boy stuttered.

I opened my mouth to object to _his_ question when he hadn't even answered ours, but my mouth wouldn't move.

{Anita, do us all a favor and be nice.}

I took a deep breath and Apple unfroze my jaw. I looked down at Melvin, his face all damp and cute…

"Stop crying," I demanded.

{ANITA! NICE!}

"_Please_, stop crying," I repeated.

{Anita…}

Ugh, this was the type of thing Erin could probably deal with. Why did Erin have to disappear now of all times? Of course, her disappearance was my fault…

I struggled to smile at the boy. "I'm sorry," I said unenthusiastically.

{You're grimacing. Think happy thoughts.}

_Kicking Liam's ass, the day Erin tortured Liam, Melvin not existing, peanut butter cookies_… I flashed a smile. "We can help you and Scary" _get lost._

{Geez, you're in a violent mood today,} Apple commented. {Looks like, as usual, I'll have to do all the dirty work to save _your_ butt.} Apple leapt onto the couch next to Mel and licked his face. The boy patted Apple and let out a sound that sounded like a sick cat purring. {That was a giggle.}

I sighed and sat back down on the couch. Let Apple do her magic, or whatever. After a few minutes, when the boy calmed down, I spoke again. "Melvin, we'd really like to know where our Pokemon are, and what is going on. The Eevee you're petting, Apple, wants to know, too. Will you help us?"

Mel looked hesitantly at Apple and then looked up at me with huge teary, grey eyes. "Do you promise not to leave me?"

"Of course not," I replied uncomfortably.

"Then if you let Scary out of the bubble, he can get your other Pokemon." I tried to probe Mel's mind, but found it impossible to penetrate. Liam and I watched Melvin sharply as Scary was released and given orders to retrieve the Pokeballs. Scary disappeared.

"Tell us about yourself, Mel," I said, trying to lighten the atmosphere (in other words, stop the boy from having a mental break-down).

"I'm eight years old, I like playing games, and I have ten fingers. When I grow up I want to be a profusional ghost."

{I think he meant professional,} Apple suggested.

{Yes, wealthy ghosts are hard to come by.}

{So are professional ghosts…}

"Like Scary?" I asked Mel.

The boy nodded seriously.

"So why are you alone in this house? Where are your parents?"

"This is my home!" Mel exclaimed. "And Scary is my parent. He takes care of me, and feeds me, and sometimes finds me friends like you guys."

"What about before Scary?" I pressed. "Did anyone take care of you before Scary?"

Mel looked at the ground. "No."

{He's lying.}

"Mel, we're trying to help you. We have to know."

"Papa ran away," he whispered. "He was scared. Of me. He's not my parent."

"Oh…"

{You are _really_ bad at this emotional comfort stuff. Why don't you give the boy a hug?}

{He might try to take over my body again! Maybe this is part of an evil scheme to get back inside me!}

{Or maybe Mel's a scared little boy who needs a hug. I'll know if something goes wrong and Liam is touching him so it should be okay.}

{Alright…} I moved next to Melvin, and gave him a hug, awkwardly patting his back.

Abruptly, Scary, Erin, and Missy all faded into reality. Or rather, Scary, holding Erin and Missy by the scruffs of their necks, faded into reality. Erin struggled wildly, and Missy continued to cackle. {I found these two where the Pokeballs were being stored.} Scary lifted Erin higher into the air. {This one somehow convinced this one—} Scary lifted Missy. {that it would be extremely fun to steal back the Pokeballs.} Scary dropped both of the offenders. Missy, of course, continued to float.

Erin, however, hit the couch hard. She rolled into a sitting position. "Hey, guys. I'm just dropping by…" Three Pokeballs hit her head and she collapsed back down onto the couch.

{Lame puns should always be punished with violence.} Apple nodded approvingly at Scary.

Once I had my Pokeballs all safely clipped to my pants, I asked, "Alright, ready to go?"

Liam and Erin exchanged glances. "Anita, we still don't really know where we are," Liam explained.

"And there's Melvin. Does he have actual parents? We can't just leave him," Erin added.

"You promised to stay with me!" Mel yelled accusingly.

"I… er… didn't mean… umm. Of course, we're staying with you," I hastily told Mel.

"Why don't we bring Mel with us?" Erin suggested. "He knows how to get to Cape Caution, probably."

"No!" I shouted. When I got shocked looks I spoke normally. "I mean. Well, no, I do mean no. We can't take care of a kid." I wrinkled my nose. "He seems like a hassle."

"I can take care of myself," Mel replied indignantly. "I don't wanna go."

Erin crouched down next to Melvin. "Mel, you can't keep living like this. You need a safe home, and an education, and someone who can help you use your powers better, and someone to take care of you."

"But I'm a ghost. I don't need an education and Scary can do the rest."

"You're a human with ghost powers, Mel. You need to be around humans. Come with us. It'll be fun—we'll play games with you and you can meet our Pokemon."

"But—"

{Mel, I think they are right,} Scary added.

Uh oh, it looked like the miniature fountain was going to start spouting tears again. "But, you'll come, too. Right, Scary?"

Scary nodded.

Immediately the boy brightened. "Well, okay then."

Everyone started getting up to go. "Now, wait a second! I still don't want—" I objected.

"Anita, shut it. He's coming with us," Erin said.

"But—"

"I think you two will get along. Both of you appear to have the maturity of eight-year-olds," Liam added.

I scowled. "And you have the maturity of an eighty-year-old."

"Nu-uh," Erin argued. "He's not super mature! He spat at Carly, remember?"

"I never said eighty-year-olds were super mature. My grandpa Phil, for one, is eighty-three years old and still making prank phone calls to his hall mates in his nursing home," I recalled.

"I'd love to meet—Ahhh!" Erin jumped up and yelped. When she landed, she spun towards Liam. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Don't you dare touch my ass!"

Liam held up his hands. "I didn't touch you."

Mel tugged my sleeve. "What is a prank phone call? And what's hell? And ass?"

{You guys are going to be a brilliant influence on Mel,} Apple said dryly.

"Ow!" Erin yelped again. She looked around at everyone shiftily, daring anyone to speak.

Silence.

A cricket.

Mel picking his nose.

{Wahahahahahahaha…}


	26. Ridiculous to the Max

Chapter 24: Ridiculous to the Max

"Aden, this is ridiculous."

I squinted at the picture. "His right eye is definitely brown," I masterfully observed, lifting the picture closer to my face to get a better look. I was brilliant at this sort of thing.

_SWISH_

"Hey! Give that back! We need that for the wanted posters you are going to make!"

Officer Jenny crumpled the picture in her hand. "With all due respect, sir, we are _not_ going to find the robbers by putting up wanted signs of security tape snapshots. The pictures are too blurry, and the robbers had their faces covered. Plus, they were with Team Glop'emm. If we cannot even find their base, how are we going to find the individuals?"

"One of them has brown eyes," I replied definitively.

"Aden, the snapshots are in black and white."

"But…" Unfortunately, even I, the great me, could not defeat that logic.

"We have not been able to find any traces…" Jen blabbered away. No new information, blah de-blah. I could be out there searching for those scoundrels myself! Or hanging up wanted signs. Maybe someone in town _had_ seen….

"That's it!" I yelled. Jen yelped and tripped backwards over an office stool. My awesome booming voice tended to have that affect on people.

"What now?" The officer gave me an annoyed glare as she dusted her pants off. But no way was I going to wait and explain. I had a brilliant idea! Muwahahahaha! It needed immediate implementation! Now where was that phone? I shuffled some papers around Jen's desk until- aha! – I found the phone.

"I've already thought of that, Aden." Tamara answered the phone before it even rang... as well as my thoughts before I spoke. But it was impossible. She couldn't have thought of _my_ brilliant idea already! It was so… brilliant!

"There is no way you came up with the idea of making wanted signs for our favorite missing person without reading my mind!" I accused.

I heard a sigh. "Actually, Nai came to me with the idea the day our gym leader went missing. She thought that even though we had no photographs of him, I should be able to project his image into an artist's mind, who would then be able to create an image. In theory, she should be right… even if he does have dark powers, I should be able to project a simple image of him into another's mind. I tried. I failed. Aden, I do not understand why, but I cannot do it. I did not wish to disclose this information to the others, as I would be creating a false sense of insecurity."

"You sound fairly insecure," I said seriously. "Is there anything else wrong, you know, with your powers?"

"Nothing at all. It is a small matter, Aden, do not worry. And I would be grateful if you told nobody else of this conversation."

"Alright…" Tamara had already hung up the phone. Bleh, psychics.

I turned around, only to find Officer Jenny an inch away from me. "What was that about?" she shouted.

"Apparently, nobody likes my wanted poster idea," I mumbled.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

…_according to ancient Pekanian legend "blue fire fell from the sky…leaving only ash." This could be a reference to Mew's supposed regenerative lifecycle, rumored to occur every five thousand years. This destructive blue fire, however, seems to have been witnessed twice in the past hundred years— the already discussed Cherrigrove City and Vintage Village incidents. Several questions arise from the short period between these incidents. Is Mew's lifecycle as long as the legends suggest? Does Mew actually have a phoenix-like lifecycle?_

I slammed the musty book shut, dust visibly swirling around the page corners.

This research was useless.

They asked all the wrong questions.

"_Again."_

_A small boy with dark hair and lean features aimed a punch at his father's stomach. The father stopped the boy's hand before the blow could hit._

"_What did I tell you about flailing about?" the father scolded._

_The boy looked at the rough grass beneath his torn shoes._

"_Answer me. Where does power come from?"_

"_From the base, father. From my legs."_

"_Look at me." The father put a gentle hand under his son's chin. Green eyes connected. "Power is always built up. To make even the slightest inefficient and unbalanced movement is to lose power. Do you understand?"_

_The boy nodded._

"_No, you don't. But one day you will. Again." The boy thrust his arm forward, faster this time. The father let his son's fist connect with his stomach, wincing slightly. The boy lost balance and fell over, cradling his wrist from the impact. "Better—"_

_The father looked over his shoulder, as if someone had called his name. "Tal may have found something a mile into Apoosh Forest. Let's go."_

_The man took off running after giving an expectant look to his son. The boy knew he had to keep up._

_For every one of his father's strides, the boy took three. Still he pushed forward._

_The trees became thicker, and the boy stumbled on a root. The father did not slow. "Why do we do this?" the father asked._

"_To train," the boy replied by rote._

"_Train?" the father repeated._

"_Train to be like a Pokemon. To be successful, a trainer must be able to think and fight as if the trainer was in the Pokemon's position."_

"_Excellent. At least your mind is sharp."_

_An Alakazam appeared before the man, its legs shaking slightly. The man and boy slowed down. "This better not be a false alarm—not another Grumpig like last time." The Alakazam shook his head and pointed into the dark woods. "Very well." The Pokemon disappeared in a flash of red. In its place stood a Houndoom._

_As the dog sniffed the air, the boy smiled. "Houndoooooom!" The Houndoom ran into the woods, closely followed by the father and son._

_Not ten minutes later, the Houndoom growled and circled a large berry tree. The father looked up. A pink Pokemon cradling a delicious-looking Oran berry rested in the topmost branches._

_The boy's stomach growled as the Pokemon took an enormous bite into the berry, spraying berry juice across its face and the tree bark. A drop landed in the boy's hair._

"_Charmeleon, now!" the father yelled, releasing a Charmeleon. The fire Pokemon leapt into the tree, quickly bounding up the branches, as the father flung what looked like an over-sized black and yellow Pokeball._

_Just as the Charmeleon and the ball reached the upper branches of the tree, they froze. The pink Pokemon gave the father a pleading look, but almost seemed to be looking beyond the father. {Why?} It quickly floated above the tree tops out of sight._

"_Tal, which direction?" the father demanded, releasing the Alakazam once more. The psychic Pokemon's spoons bent in concentration and pointed deeper into the woods. A sweet scent of pine and dew grew stronger as the father, son, and Pokemon pursued the pink creature._

_The Alakazam stopped. {It's gone.}_

"_Gone? That's not possible!" the father exclaimed._

_{I can no longer sense its presence.}_

"_You mean it teleported? It could not do that before!"_

_{Maybe. However, I should still be able to sense its existence. I cannot feel the creature.}_

_The father pulled out three Pokeballs. "I pushed you too hard, Tal. We'll try again later." After all of the Pokemon were returned to their Pokeballs, the father kicked the ground in frustration._

"_Father?" the boy asked timidly._

_Composing himself, the father replied, "Yes?"_

_The moss-covered trees were calm—not a branch wavered. The air was light and peaceful._

"_That Pokemon destroyed our village and Lily's parents?"_

"_Yes."_

_The boy hesitated. "Then why are you trying to capture it? Why not kill it?"_

"_That Pokemon is not like normal Pokemon. Mew is legendary. It is dangerous and immortal."_

"_So how can you kill it?"_

_The father smiled down at his son. "That's my son, always asking the right question."_

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_{868,013, your barrier is weak,} Lieutenant 868 yelled. _

_I poured more psychic energy into my barrier. It was not fair. The others were older and more experienced and stronger…_

_{868,013—age is no excuse! 868,012, show 013 how weak that barrier is!} Another Mew appeared next to me. I was not surprised. That had happened a lot this past week._

_The Mew's fist lit up. I prepared for the worst—and felt my head explode into several million shards as 012's fist shattered my barrier._

_{013, you are not a theater major! Stop the drama! Have I taught you nothing this past week? Get back up! You have very little time remaining—let's practice your teleportation.}_

_Feebly, I floated a foot off of the ground. 012 towered over me. A blur of pink whipped towards me at a speed I could not possibly block. _

_I closed my eyes and prepared for the blow that would never hit._

_Green light, like a forest—_

I woke up panting.

It was dawn. The sun peeped over the horizon, as if welcoming me back into the physical world. I took several deep breaths to calm myself and purge the distinct smell of my dream from my system.

I did not want to believe it. It was not possible. Not so soon… But the visions kept coming, even after we left Mint Mountain. I worked hard to clear my mind every day before Anita woke up so I wouldn't worry her, but it was getting harder.

The last time I had so many visions…

But no. This must be something else.

I would not allow myself to disappear now, of all times.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The glittering sunlight shone brightly upon our fur, comforting us in a chewable-squishy-fuzzy-slippers kind of comfort.

At least that's how Apple described it, and she's the coolest so she'd know.

Now though, Apple was busy with our trainer so it was up to me to make fun and be cool. "Attention!"

"So the Mudkip replied…" Vanilla chattered to Allo.

"No, a truck sounds like Vrorom-rooom! Not Vrooom-um!" Tweal argued with Missy.

"Ehem!" I cleared my throat. "I said ATTENTION!"

Everyone was quiet. Normally, I didn't like quiet, but this was a good quiet. Maybe a fuzzy-slipper quiet. "Now, you all know why we are gathered here…"

"Actually, we don't, Splash," Vanilla interrupted. "We were all happily munching away on our nutty nibbles—" Missy made a puking noise. "—when you decided we had to have a super-special meeting. I'm not quite sure why any of us actually agreed to come."

"Fun!" Tweal chirped.

"Well, Tweal is right. Today is a very important day. A day for fun. Today, ladies, gentleman, ghosts, Eevees, birds, and nutty nibbles smeared across Allo's face, is July eighteenth."

"And…?" Vanilla asked.

"Today, we battle!"

Allo sighed. "I figured it was something like this—"

"No! It is nothing like that! We are not gathered here for a simple announcement! We are gathered here in celebration! We are gathered here for—"

"Fun!" Tweal chirped again.

"Exactly! Now who's with me?"

"But, we still don't know what—"

"Me!" Tweal exclaimed.

"Me!" Missy whispered.

I gave Sunflower a threatening growl when Allo turned to consult Vanilla. "Me…" Sunflower said.

Vanilla started to walk away. "Oooh, Vanilla's afraid to have a little fun!" I taunted.

"Am not!" Vanilla snapped. "I just don't like _your_ idea of fun."

"Splash, I think I'm with Vanilla on this. What exactly are you planning?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked. In celebration of today, we are going to play a game!"

"What kind of game?" Allo asked tentatively.

"Make believe!"

"Where does he get this stuff from?" Allo asked Vanilla in disbelief.

"My artificial intelligence!" I replied. _Duh! _"Whoever can pretend they are something or someone else the longest wins the game!"

"Can we choose anything to pretend to be?" Tweal asked.

"Yup! I'm going to be a cactus!"

"Then I'll be Splash," Vanilla snickered. "Look at me! I have maximum energy and minimum intelligence! I leap before I think. Actually, I do everything before I think and never get around to the actual thinking part!"

"Ooh, Vanilla you're brilliant! We can pretend to be members of our group. I take it back, I wanna be Anita!"

"Me got dibs on Erin!" Missy cackled.

"If you're not going to be a cactus, can I be a cactus?" Tweal asked.

"There once a friend anew—a Gastly haunting cactus …" Missy stared off in reminiscence.

"What are _you _going to be, Sunflower?" I asked.

"I'm not sure this is the best game, especially for Sun—" Allo started.

"I'll be Mel," Sunflower said quietly. Of course she wanted to be the boring one of the group.

"That was a good decision," Allo said encouragingly. Then he sighed. "I wish I could disappear right now, too… I'm going to pretend you're all normal."

"That's actually going to be a challenge," Vanilla commented. I would have retorted, but I heard the trot of one of my favorite Eevees in the whole group!

"Hey, my fellow Eeps! What is up?" Apple bounded next to Allo. "After Anita and everyone cleans up lunch, you guys are going to train! How does that sound?"

"Awesome!" I replied enthusiastically.

At the same time, Allo asked, "Eeps?"

"People are called peeps, so I figure Eevees are called Eeps!" Apple explained. I think Apple must have a Ph.D. in life because she's so smart. I want her smarts one day!

"We're celebrating by make believing!" I proudly declared. "I'm Anita, Missy's Erin, Vanilla's me, Sunflower's Mel, Allo's pretending we're normal, and Tweal is a cactus!"

Apple smiled widely. "I am soooo Liam."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"There is no reason for the Electrike to migrate with all the rain Cape Caution's had this summer," Liam stated.

"It's not about _reason_. The Electrike migrate away from Cape Caution every summer," Erin argued.

I sighed and unzipped Erin's bag to find our pot shrinker. They had been arguing all through lunch. Mel had become so bored he threw his unfinished lunch at the two of them, and when that failed he had resorted to French braiding the tall golden grass around our camp.

"They only migrate because there is not usually enough water up here to sustain the whole pack."

"Enough! I'll prove you wrong!" Erin declared. "Anita, Liam and I are going to what would be the Electrike habitat if it was winter. It's about two miles west of here. Can you watch Tweal? He likes to be around Splash."

Mel jumped up. "Can I come too?"

Liam, who had been examining his Pokedex, shot Erin an irked look. Erin smiled at Mel. "If you want to, Mel, of course you can come! Anita's going to be training her Pokemon here…"

I glared at Erin, who replied with an innocent blink.

"Nevermind! I'm going to stay here and help Anita train!" Mel exclaimed.

"But Mel, don't you think it would be more fun to look at the Electrike with Erin? They have such cool sparks and—" I tried to get Mel to leave.

"I've seen Electrike before, but I've never seen Pokemon training! And I want to be a profusional ghost Pokemon so I need to learn all I can!"

"Professional," Erin muttered. Before I could say anything else, Erin called over Griffy. "You two have fun! Hop on, Liam!" Liam nimbly climbed onto Griffy's back behind Erin, and Griffy took off into the tall grass.

Well, this was just perfect. I finally fished the pot shrinker out of Erin's bag and used it to store our dishes. Then, I turned around to tell Mel to stay out of my way, only to find the area surrounding me void of little annoying boys.

That should be a good thing, right? Not when the little annoying boy can turn invisible…

"Boo!" I jumped up in surprise, and beside me, Erin shrieked. Wait, Erin wasn't here. So who…?

Missy, apparently, could do a perfect imitation of Erin's scream. She winked at me and disappeared. Mel was rolling on the ground laughing, Scary smiled beside him, and even Sunflower, who was sitting by Mel's feet, seemed to be grinning.

"So happy to provide amusement," I mumbled before stomping away towards my other Pokemon. "Fiery, come on!" Fiery had been lazily relaxing in the sun. He opened an eye to glare at me, and then shut it.

Before I could ask again, Splash jumped on top of him. {Get up! Get up! Let's go battle! Come on!}

Fiery leapt up immediately and started sniffing Splash… wait… no, it couldn't be… but… but… how? I looked around the field. Splash and Apple were tackling each other a hundred meters away. Splash hadn't tackled Fiery. It had been… Vanilla?

Vanilla sprinted towards me, followed by a rather shocked Fiery.

Stunned, I watched as Vanilla ran past me to where Tweal and Allo were sitting, and started running in circles.

{Is something wrong?} I called out to Tweal and Allo as I approached them.

{…} Tweal was silent.

{Nope, everything is absolutely normal,} Allo answered.

Maybe Vanilla was really excited to battle? She never had been before… Well, no time to worry about that now. I had practicing to do. "Everyone come over here!" I yelled.

Apple tackled Splash to the ground one more time before both she and Splash frowned slightly and walked towards me. Weird, usually they were a little more enthusiastic.

Once everyone was gathered, I began my pep-talk. "Alright, so for most of you, this is your first time training. If the training's too tough for you, say something, and I promise to psychically shoot you back to Mint Mountain. No wusses or crybabies—" I glared at Mel. "—allowed. I thought we'd start with a quick round robin to illustrate the most basic move, tackle. Fiery, demonstrate tackle on that rock."

I pointed, and Fiery ran at the rock, headbutting it so it flew a good forty meters through the air.

{What did you think of the pep-talk?} I asked the group, as Fiery illustrated the attack.

{It was amazing, of course, because I made it!} Splash replied. I turned around to see if he was making a joke I just did not understand, only to realize that several members of the group were missing.

"Where's Sunflower, Mel, Scary, and Missy?" I asked.

Allo shrugged, Tweal did not answer, Splash replied, "I don't know," Apple replied, "I don't care," and Vanilla had a paw stuck up her nose.

Trying extremely hard to ignore all of the bizarreness so I could concentrate on finding Sunflower and the others (but mostly Sunflower), I ordered, "The five of you practice tackling each other. Fiery, can you look for Sunflower? I'm going to try to find Mel psychically. Hopefully, they are all together."

With that, I sat down and closed my eyes. Immediately, I was drawn to the minds of the five Pokemon closest to me, but I avoided the temptation and reached out further. I started reaching only in the direction away from Fiery, but soon realized I was able to "see" many directions at once if I wanted to. It felt like I was zooming out of a picture so I could see more and more.

My mind stretched outward, but like a muscle, there came a point where I felt I could not stretch even an inch more. I settled for scrutinizing every inch of the area I could see, maybe half a mile radius. At the very northern tip of my view, I felt strangely repelled. My power dipped slightly, as if there was an invisible barrier.

I flashed an image in Fiery's mind. {Try here.} Fiery, who had been heading north-west, changed directions slightly. {Tell me if you find anything.}

I returned to my body. "Alright you guys, I need to know exactly what happened to Sun—"

Allo, Apple, Splash, and Vanilla all lay crumpled on their sides, as if badly beaten in a battle. Tweal was the only Pokemon still standing tall.

{Tweal, what happened?}

{…}

{Tweal?}

{… Cacti will triumph over all…}

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

On a scale of one to a hundred degrees Celcius, Anita's temper broke the thermometer. She immediately tried to force her way into my mind. Wincing slightly, I held her back. To keep her from doing anything destructive, I said, {Don't worry, Sunflower and Mel are fine!}

{Even I, the great and mighty Anita, could not defeat a cactus,} Splash declared, trying to answer the real Anita's question. {Every time we tackled it, we were hit by spikes!}

Anita crept back into her own mind and glared at me. {Whatever is going on, I'm sure it's your fault,} she told me. "Splash," Anita said, a little too sweetly, "you are not me."

{Of course I am,} Splash insisted. {Look, I can make a psychic barrier!} Splash waved his paws in an attempt to look mystical and then pretended to run into an invisible barrier.

{Apple, what is going on?}

{None of your business.}

{Apple,} Anita growled. She pressured my mind again. I still resisted. She then changed her focus and tried to get into the others' minds. Just for kicks, I held her back from their minds, too. Liam would do that too, right? He likes to bother Anita… I mean who doesn't?

"Alright, Vanilla and/or Allo, would you care to inform me why my Pokemon have become idiotic?"

{Of course, my idol, Anita!} Vanilla answered. {I came up with the most amazing idea to play make believe! Now we're all pretending to be other people and Pokemon and thingies! I'm Splash so I'm hyper and stupid!}

Anita slumped onto the ground. "You have all had me worried because you're playing a freakin game?"

{Obviously,} I drawled. {Took you long enough to figure out.}

"Apple, snap out of it. This is ridiculous! Who are you supposed to be, anyway? Vanilla is Splash, Splash is me, Tweal is a cactus…? And I think Missy might have been Erin…" Sudden understanding crossed Anita's face. "You must be Liam."

"Don't forget Sunflower is Mel!" Vanilla piped.

"I'm going to go curl up by those bushes and pretend this isn't happening," Anita said despairingly.

{Welcome to the club,} Allo muttered.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Scary, is this far enough to not be disturbed?" Mel asked Scary.

I peeked out of Mel's arms and saw Scary nodding. Both Scary and Mel floated to the ground, and I let out a sigh of relief. The floating made me extremely uncomfortable.

"Boo!" Missy popped out at me and Mel. While Mel did not even flinch, I plunged my head down into Mel's chest. Missy then did another very good imitation of Erin's scream and continued to laugh madly. I knew I shouldn't be afraid, that Missy was just joking, but I could not help being frightened. I didn't like surprises…

"Alright, Sunflower, Scary here tells me that you want to learn to be a ghost so we're going to teach you! Okay?"

I nodded and Mel set me down on the ground. To be quite honest, I knew there was no chance of me ever becoming a ghost until I died, which I hoped would not happen any time soon. I really only did this to get away from my insane brother. His games were dangerous.

"First of all, Sunflower, ghosts are scary. Watch—"

Scary grinned evilly and seemed to grow in size. I cowered by Mel's feet.

"Now you try!" Mel exclaimed.

I looked at the boy pleadingly. I could not be terrifying—only terrified!

"You can do it! Growl at me!"

I tried. I screwed up my face and barked.

"Hehehehehe!" Missy cackled. "That quite hilarity."

Mel started laughing, too, but managed to turn it into a coughing fit. My ears drooped. I couldn't do this.

"Sunflower, try to imagine I'm Splash. Growl at me!" Mel suggested.

But he was not Splash, and if he was, I could never growl at him. Still… he was not Splash and if I pretended I had the guts to stand up to a pretend Splash, maybe it would sound something like—

_GRRRRRROR!_

Missy let out an Erin scream.

"Sunflower, that was great!" Mel exclaimed. He patted me on the head. "Now we can work on turning invisible."

I licked Mel's hand. He was such a nice person, but he was a child, and children did not understand the laws of physics… of course, I was a child, too.

"Mel, Sunflower is not like us; she will never be able to turn invisible at will," Scary said to Mel. Scary disappeared into Mel's body for a few seconds and then returned. It must have been their way of communicating because Mel looked downcast for a moment.

"Scary says you can't learn that…" Mel suddenly smiled. "But he did show me something I might be able to teach you!"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The campfire's heat was relaxing. The soft grass I sat on was relaxing. Erin and Liam's constant bickering… kinda ruined the whole relaxing atmosphere I was going for.

"The Electrike only moved a mile south, Erin. That does not qualify as migration," Liam argued.

"Does too!" Erin countered. "Doesn't it, Anita?"

I shrugged.

Not satisfied with my answer, Erin accusingly asked, "What did you accomplish here, anyway, while Liam and I were off making amazing scientific discoveries?"

"Anita couldn't control her Pokemon and ended up not accomplishing anything!" Mel blurted out.

I glared at the evil boy. "In fact, Allo and I had a very productive day. Allo mastered several attacks."

Allo puffed out his chest proudly.

"And your other Pokemon…?" Erin asked.

I didn't answer.

"Scary told me the whole situation! See," Mel explained, "what happened was Splash decided he wanted to make believe. So he gathered everyone and he was Anita and Vanilla was him and Missy was you and Apple was Liam and Tweal was a cactus and Allo pretended everything was alright and Sunflower was me. So I decided to train Sunflower myself but then Fiery found us and was furious and brought us back to Anita. And—"

"Who won?" Erin interrupted.

"Won?" Mel asked. "Make believe isn't a winning-losing game."

{Whoever pretends the longest wins,} Apple explained. Only nobody could hear her and I certainly was not going to be the communication link in this conversation.

{Excuse me, but Apple claims that whoever pretends the longest wins this strange game,} Griffy said. Darn that Girafarig.

"And?" Erin asked expectantly.

Apple spoke and Griffy relayed, {Allo lost when he tackled Tweal and pretended to be hurt because he was supposed to be pretending that nobody was pretending. Tweal eventually fell over from standing up straight and Vanilla fell in a puddle and started flipping out about her dirtiness so they both lost. Then Splash and I got bored so we played leapfrog instead of make believe. That leaves—"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" Missy uttered a high pitch Erin scream, making me jump back from the fire.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark ball of shadowy energy collided with Missy. The Misdreavus fell over, knocked out.

We all turned our heads towards the source of the attack.

Sunflower smiled. {I win.}


	27. Establishing Chaos

Chapter 25: Establishing Chaos

The roof gleamed black and reflective, like a shiny new Mercedes in the sun. Layers upon layers of beautiful dusty stone held up the roof, giant cracks running along the stone layers like battle scars. I wanted to reach out and touch—

"Anita, you're staring at it again," Erin said dryly.

"Mmmhm…" I answered. Soon I would be there…

Erin turned to Liam. "I think we've lost her. Maybe when we reach the lab and it's out of sight we'll be able to have an actual conversation…"

My head snapped around. "We're not going to the gym first? Of course we're going to the gym first! We have to go to the gym first!"

"You're a moron," Liam stated.

I would have glared, but there were more important matters to attend to—going to the gym NOW, for instance.

Erin sighed. "Anita, we talked about this ten minutes ago. You mumbled in agreement to everything we said! And I quote, 'So, Anita, we'll go to Professor Blubber's lab today and tomorrow you can challenge the gym leader?' 'Sure, Erin, sound's good.'"

{Did I actually say that?} I asked Apple.

{You mumbled something in response. I suppose it could be interpreted that way. Mumble is a difficult language to translate, it's so often mixed up with murmur and mutter…}

"You also said, and _I_ _quote_, 'Mel deserves a piggyback ride. I think I'll give him one because he's such an amazing ghost!'" Mel grinned at me happily.

"Shut up, you can float if you want."

"If everyone is through quoting Anita, I think you'd like to notice that we are currently traveling in the wrong direction. Erin, you said we wanted to turn back there." Liam pointed out. Darn him, why did he always ruin my plans. It was too late to shove my elbow into his gut to get him to close his pie hole…

{You couldn't hit him if you tried. Plus, they were obviously going to notice sooner or later that they were heading to the gym. But congratulations on making it a whole twenty feet in the wrong direction! I was convinced you would only make it ten.}

"Anita, come on!" Everyone had already turned around. Erin grabbed my hand, but I stood in place.

"Can't we go to the gym first? Pleeeaase?" Yes, I resorted to begging.

Erin rolled her eyes. "Be serious. Let's go."

"Why don't we take a vote," I stubbornly replied. "All in favor of going to the gym first?" I raised my hand, and so did Mel. I smiled—finally there was someone else on _my_ side! Erin crossed her arms and gave me her stop-it-because-I'm-done-playing look. "Look, I've gotta beat the gym as quickly as possible otherwise Jake is going to be ahead of me forever and he's annoying and you don't like him either so WHY don't you agree with me?"

"This is not about Jake. I have data and samples I collected that need to get to the lab as soon as possible—"

"Here's an idea," Liam interrupted. "You go battle at the gym. We'll deliver the samples." He sharply turned on the ball of his foot and strode down the path toward the lab.

Erin looked at me questioningly. {Is she seriously not coming?} she thought hesitantly before giving me one last fleeting look and scurrying after Liam. I watched her go.

I didn't mean to split us up…

{Then stop being so pea-headed and go after them!}

I turned around and walked towards the gym. I took bigger steps because the walk was uphill. Mel had to take twice as many to keep up.

{Anita, why are you doing this?} Apple asked.

I didn't answer. If Erin and Liam did not want to watch my gym battle, that was fine by me. If they had more important things to be doing—

{They DO have more important things to do! Snap out of it, Anita! You know Erin and Liam… well, at least Erin… support you in everything you do! It's about time you returned the favor!}

I had to avert my gaze from the gym as the sun glinted too brightly off of the roof. I was reminded of Liam's stare—the way he always made me want to avert my eyes… but I would never give him the satisfaction…

{So this is about not giving Liam the satisfaction? Satisfaction of what? Humans and their ridiculous emotions… At least I'll get a good battle out of this.}

We reached the gym. Now I could see that the gym sat on the very tip of Cape Caution. Beyond the gym there was a cliff and then the endless ocean, sparkling in the sunlight. I angrily put my hand on the large metal doorknob, intending to slam the door open—only to be shocked, literally.

I yelped in surprise and quickly pulled my hand back. The door creaked open on its own accord, and I tentatively peaked inside. The room was pitch black.

"Cool!" Mel exclaimed and rushed inside before I could utter a warning, "Wait!" It was almost better to have Scary outside of his Pokeball at times like this. And I had been ecstatic when I discovered Scary even had a Pokeball…

{Yeah, but Scary would only keep Mel from getting hurt, not from causing trouble. Stupid ghost helps Mel create problems,} Apple commented.

{You don't seem to have any qualms when you're the one causing problems,} I said sourly. {You just don't like getting a taste of your own medicine.}

I walked in after the boy, and the door slammed shut behind me. I reached my mind out to sense for life-forms and felt Apple doing the same beside me. I could barely sense a wispy Mel because there was a life so bright—

_BZZZZT_

Knives cut every inch of my body—not just my skin—but my gut, my lungs, my heart. My knees buckled. I could only think of the pain I was currently enduring—

And then it was gone. My breath came heavily and my mind was sluggish. Where was I? I heard a cackle, and for a moment, I thought Missy was playing an elaborate joke. Then I realized that Missy haunted Erin and Erin was not here and that cackle sounded nothing like Missy's—

_Hehehe…_

There it was again—it was too deep to be Missy's, but it caused the hairs on my neck to prickle up in fear in a similar manner. Not the same, though. This cackle made the hairs stand up and stay up—the fear was not leaving any time soon.

A too-bright light was ahead of me. I couldn't look at it—it was like the sun's reflection on the roof—I was spinning—

"Welcome to the Cape Caution Gym," a shrill voice seemed to scream. I covered my ears, but I could still hear the voice. "Please choose three Pokemon for battle and one for the prelim."

A gym… brilliant light… the light reflecting off of the gym's roof… knives… Pokemon… I couldn't make sense of the images. My head felt heavy. I felt something tug at my belt…

{ANITA!} Ouch, too loud, too loud… There was more pressure on my head but it was better than the loudness. Cool roundness was in my hand.

"Good, you have chosen." The voice was laughing. Maybe I was funny… now there were lots of dazzling sparkles… "Let the prelim begin."

And all was dark.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"How do you see memories?" I asked Liam, breaking our silence.

"Excuse me?" Liam finally broke his angry stride. By angry stride, I mean in each step he used just a tad too much force, causing bits of dust to come up around his feet.

"You know—what point of view do you see your memories from? See, some people imagine themselves in their memories so the view is more third person, but other people remember their memories exactly how they were, which is obviously first person. Maybe some people do a combination. Like, they see recent memories from first person, but old memories from third person. Haven't you ever had an old memory you kinda remember, but not really? Or a memory you're only reminded of when someone else mentions it so it's muddled and you sort of make up stuff to fill in the blanks? Which could be like third person…"

Usually by this time in a rant, the other person interrupts me out of annoyance. Unless that person is Anita, who often just dazes out. I looked at Liam expectantly. He was incredibly patient, I guess. Or evil and antisocial, if he wasn't planning to answer.

We walked in silence for another two minutes.

Evil and antisocial and patient.

What a horrible combination.

"Are you going to answer me?"

Liam smirked. "Why would I when it's so much more fun not to?"

"Oh, and is that why you never answer any of our personal questions? Because it's more fun not to?"

"Sometimes."

I jumped in front of Liam and pointed accusingly. Now I was walking backwards. "And when you do answer, you're always exceedingly vague…or you just avoid the question altogether!"

Liam rolled his eyes.

I stopped walking, forcing Liam to stop as well. "Listen, buddy, you're not the only one with a less than perfect past! But that does not give you the right to mope around and not answer questions that have nothing to do with the past!"

Liam watched emotionlessly through my lecture. Then, he asked, "Are you going to move?"

I crossed my arms. "Not until you answer."

"Your question did have to do with the past."

I threw up my arms in frustration, swerved around, and continued walking. "Not directly! Ugh, fine. What's your favorite color?"

"Magenta," Liam immediately answered.

I nodded. "Good, I'll remember that for your birthday."

"You don't even know when my birthday is."

"When is it?"

"Why would I tell you when you're going to get me something magenta?" Liam gave me one of his rare, genuine half smiles.

I grinned and yelled, "I got you to smile!" In an instant, Liam was back to being Mr. Empty-face. I skipped around in circles bellowing, "I made Liam smile!" until Liam made a very inappropriate threat involving a dirty shoe we spotted on the side of the road, his broken bicycle, and my ass.

I was still laughing at Liam when a cold shiver ran up my spine. I stopped laughing abruptly, and Liam turned questioning eyes my way.

Ugh, not again…

I was sick of this Misdreavus. Why couldn't Mel just have a Pokeball for her?

"_Mehehehe_," Missy cackled. This had gone on too long—it was time to take care of this matter myself.

I waited for the unnerving cool breeze on the back of my neck that I knew would follow. Then—

"Griffy, crunch, behind me!" I released Griffy. There was no way Missy could move fast enough to avoid the attack and no way Missy could defend herself—ghost attacks would not affect Griffy.

Griffy's tail bit down into what looked like was air, until Missy became visible in the tail's mouth.

Before the Misdreavus could react, I threw an empty Pokeball at the Pokemon.

Missy's eyes were wide in shock as she was sucked into the little ball. The Pokeball shook once… twice… and then was still. I smirked as I picked up the Pokeball.

"Who's laughing now?" I whispered to the Pokeball before clipping it to my belt.

Liam snickered and started towards the lab again. Now laughing like Missy, I ran after the thoroughly annoyed teen.

It was not long before the red roof shingles of Cape Caution's research laboratory were in view. Just as I expected, I heard Professor Blubber's loud, bubbling voice before we even arrived at the lab. "Erin! Welcome back! How is my favorite assistant?"

Professor Blubber, messy grey hair and all, stood in front of the lab, his arms wide open in welcome.

I ran forward to hug the Professor—he was more than just my employer; he was a good friend of the family, practically an uncle. "I'm great, Professor!" I stepped back and gestured to Liam, who had caught up. "This is my friend, Liam. He researches Pokemon, too!"

Professor Blubber held out his hand and Liam took it. "It's nice to meet you! Who do you do research for?"

I watched Liam curiously. At age thirteen, kids who wanted to become Pokemon researchers usually contacted a professor. If the professor saw fit, he or she would hire the kid to collect data from around Acceber or do lab experiments or fill out paperwork—basically whatever the professor needed. Liam had mentioned the lady he worked for when we first met, but I couldn't remember her name…

"Professor Teal," Liam answered. He shifted ever so slightly. As much as I wanted to trust Liam, there were times I almost understood Anita's original absurd paranoia about him. Sometimes his body language indicated he might not be completely truthful… weird.

"Why, what a coincidence! I just heard from dear Rita for the first time in ages—that woman does keep herself busy. She seems to know more about Pokemon behavior than the rest of Acceber's professors combined. She told me she was starting to dab into genetics—I'm not surprised. That woman is brilliant, and genetics is the newest, greatest research area. She asked me to do a bit of research for her myself, actually. I'll show you once we get inside. Where is she these days? Rita never had a lab of her own; she was always moving about, going wherever her research took her."

Liam shrugged. "Like you said, sir, she moves around a lot. Last I heard, she was in Cereal City."

"No need to be so formal, lad. Just call me Professor Blubber, or Chris. 'Sir' makes me sound like a grandpa or something." Professor Blubber chuckled and ruffled Liam's hair. Liam grimaced and shook his head out when the professor wasn't looking. I stifled a giggle. "So what sort of research does Rita have you doing?"

"A bit of DNA collecting, sometimes. Professor Teal wanted me to discover Acceber for myself. She instructed me to observe Pokemon behavior and how behavior alters in different environments. There's not a lot of data to report; I'm sure she sent me on a journey to gain experience." Another one of Liam's characteristics that bothered me was how he often spoke fairly formally—especially when he was answering personal questions.

Professor Blubber nodded. "I'm honestly surprised to hear she's sponsoring an assistant. Rita was always so absorbed in her work… and busy… and hard to keep up with. It was as if she was not in tune with the rest of the world. She must have a lot of confidence in you if she's made you an assistant researcher." The professor beamed at Liam for a moment. "You must have brains, boy."

I snorted, and Professor Blubber grinned at me, his eyes twinkling. "Well, why are we still standing here? Come on inside!"

I sighed with contentment as Professor Blubber led us into the lab, burying my misgivings about Liam. The metallic-cheesy smell made me nostalgic of the days a few years ago I would come to the lab to watch the professor work. Of course, watching the professor was not my only incentive for coming to the lab.

I smiled as Professor Blubber waved us through the first room on the right.

As always, Professor Blubber took his guests to the kitchen first. The blue-tiled kitchen was just as spotless as when I had left. I sat down on the third wooden stool from the left—the seat I had always taken as a child—and ran my hand over the cold, smooth granite counter. The professor gestured for Liam to sit down and left the room.

"Where's he going?" Liam asked.

"To bring us some of his home-made cheese and crackers. It's seriously the best cheese ever, but Professor Blubber refuses to sell it. He says all cheese is meant to be eaten fresh, and selling it in packages would ruin his 'cheese ethic'. He always gives a sample to visitors of the lab, though. When I was younger, I pretty much came here just for the amazing cheese."

Liam sniffed. "That explains the weird smell."

Professor Blubber returned with a tray of yellow cheese and square crackers. I immediately started shoveling down the food. I had gone without the professor's cheese for too long! Liam picked up a very small piece of cheese and tentatively took a bite. I waited for the moment of enlightenment—

One chew.

Two chews.

And, there it is! Liam's mouth twitched slightly upward. He reached for another piece.

Professor Blubber had also been watching Liam hungrily. He loved watching peoples' reactions to his cheese, almost as much as he loved eating the cheese. In fact, I sometimes worry he eats too much cheese—his belly matches his name.

"So, Erin, tell me what you've done since you left." Professor Blubber said as he reached for a piece of cheese. "And then let me see those samples and your observation journal!"

How long ago was it that I left Cape Caution? A year? I counted backwards—no it had been seventeen months, but it seemed like yesterday I was waving goodbye to Professor Blubber and my family with my best friend, Zach—

I froze, not believing I had actually allowed myself to think of my asshole _ex_-best friend.

I shook my head and launched into the research-related details of my journey. Some of it, Professor Blubber already knew—I called him at least once every two months.

When we were done snacking and I had handed over the samples, Professor Blubber insisted on giving Liam a tour of the lab.

"It's not very big," Professor Blubber was saying after showing Liam a few empty workspaces and his personal office. "But it works for me. Look here." Professor Blubber opened another dull wooden door.

We followed Professor Blubber through the doorway. Inside the room, there were two closed off habitats. On my left behind glass grew large plants, similar to those I had seen by Apoosh Forest not eight months earlier. The habitat was exceedingly bright above the plants, but shaded below.

The habitat to my right was nearly opposite the one on my left. Snow blew across a dim mini-tundra (it could only be as big as the twenty square foot habitat). The snow in this habitat was higher than my waist, and below the snow, I saw there was a burrow. I leaned in closer, and noticed there was an Eevee lying in the burrow.

"Here I've tried to simulate the environments that cause Eevee to evolve into Leafeon and Glaceon. My most recent project is to figure out what in the environment, exactly, causes them to evolve. So far, I have not even been able to get these Eevees to evolve in my simulated environments…"

Liam and I examined the forest habitat. When I looked closely, I could see an Eevee sleeping in the shadows.

"How long have they been in the habitats?" I asked Professor Blubber curiously.

"Over two-months. I talked to Abalina Sycamore and Niomi Shivicle, the grass and ice gym leaders, respectively, about how they obtained Leafeon and Glaceon. They claimed the evolutions were due to the places they were at the time of evolution, but I cannot seem to prove that the environment causes the evolution."

I thought about Anita's Eevees and considered how Fiery had evolved. It had been exposed to lava…

I repeated my thoughts to Professor Blubber. He stroked his short grey mustache. "Hmm… I think I will have to look into this further. Maybe set up another habitat… In any case, come along! I have to show Liam what his mentor has requested me to work on." The professor led us out of the room and down the windowless hall to a workspace that was not empty.

Like the other workspaces, there were two large grey lab tables on each side of the room. The back wall had three large windows, sunlight lighting up the room so the electric lights were unnecessary. I blushed when I noticed a large burn-mark on one of the lab tables. That mark was from the time I had become a little too curious about how much heat a lab table could withstand… It was one of the few times I remember Professor Blubber angry…

On the non-burnt lab table, there was a… large fish skeleton? There was no sign that the fish had been dissected. There were no guts, no blood, no skin, no flesh—just a clean fish skeleton.

"Jilly, cut it out," Professor Blubber snapped. "What did I tell you about playing dead?"

The fish skeleton shrunk down until it was a blob of pink—a Ditto. "Liam, Erin, meet Jilly, a Ditto given to me by Rita."

Jilly squeaked a hello. "Ditt!"

Liam narrowed his eyes at Jilly and frowned. Professor Blubber went on explaining. "Professor Teal sent me Jilly a couple of days ago. Apparently, Rita is looking for a way to differentiate a transformed Ditto from a Pokemon. She explained that she wanted to test a Ditto's reaction in different environments compared with the actual Pokemon. I only had the two Eevee environments set up at the time so those are the only two Jilly has been tested in."

"And the results?" Liam asked.

I was somewhat surprised—Liam had not asked about anything else on the tour. Then I reminded myself that Liam was an assistant researcher, too. Of course, he was just as inquisitive as me—just quieter.

"In both cases, I had Jilly transform into an Eevee. In the forest environment, after Jilly settled in, the Ditto mostly did exactly what the Eevee did. In the arctic environment, it was fairly similar, only Jilly tended to stay in the burrow more than the Eevee. My conclusion was that Jilly behaved differently because it was unused to the cold environment. I imagine if we had left Jilly in there for a few more days, the Ditto would have become accustomed to the cold. Ditto are a very adaptive species of Pokemon; I believe that's what makes them so hard to find. If there was an easy way to tell Ditto from the original Pokemon, I'm sure they would not be so rare."

"You know, I bet we could get more information if we had Anita talk to Jilly," I suggested. "Or—" I was about to recommend just using Griffy, but Liam interrupted me.

"No! We don't need Anita's input," Liam said sharply.

"Geeze, are you still upset about that squabble we had? I mean, sure, I think Anita was being a little selfish, but she _is_ a trainer."

"Who's Anita?" Professor Blubber interrupted.

"She's a girl who's traveling with us. We wanted her to come here first, but she decided to go battle the gym leader."

"Then how would we get more information if Anita talked to Jilly?" Professor Blubber asked.

"Well, she's—"

"Very good with Pokemon, Professor. She also has several Eevees." Liam glared at me. I did not understand—Professor Blubber was trustworthy! He wouldn't do anything if he knew Anita was psychic! Liam was such a paranoid piece of poo…

"Well, I'd be very glad to meet her! I do hope she's careful. Our gym leader here in Cape Caution is… rather bizarre."

"At best," I added. "I always thought he was insane. Wasn't he almost impeached a couple years ago?"

"Then he promised to provide free electricity for the town while he was still gym leader. Nobody has challenged him since. He's a strange fellow, not very sociable."

I nodded in agreement, and Professor Blubber motioned us out of the workspace. Liam did not take his eyes off of Jilly until Professor Blubber closed the door behind us. We walked back to the kitchen and sat down around the granite counter again.

Professor Blubber looked at me thoughtfully. "So, Erin, what are your plans?"

Plans for what? "Err, what?"

"Well, you've been traveling around Acceber for over a year now. After a year, I usually have my assistants stay here and train with me."

Shit. I had known this was coming… I just had not wanted to think about it. My original plan had been to simply travel with Anita back to Cape Caution. It would be the last of my journey days…

The problem was, I'd had more fun in the past two weeks than I'd had during the whole rest of my journey. I'd been excited to finally stop traveling, even if it meant having to deal with my parents in Cape Caution… but that was before I met Anita and Liam. Liam and Anita were much more entertaining than Zach—

What the hell was wrong with me? I'd thought of he-who-must-not-be-thought-of twice in the past day! I shook my head, dispersing the thought.

Desperately not wanting to discuss this with the professor, I abruptly changed the topic. "Professor, we have a strange problem. Do you know of a haunted house a few miles southwest of Cape Caution?"

Professor Blubber frowned, probably in part because he did not understand how this related to me as his assistant researcher. "No, I do not."

"Well, we found this boy who—" Liam was glaring at me again. Not the gifted thing again! "We found an abandoned ghost boy—" I winced when Liam kicked me under the table. His kicks _hurt_. "And brought him with us. We couldn't just leave him in the empty house! But—"

"Did you say ghost boy? What—" Professor Blubber.

Liam interrupted. "She meant ghostly boy. He is very pale and thin from malnourishment—like a ghost."

Now it was my turn to glare at Liam. "No—" Liam kicked me again, and I nearly fell off the chair. My eyes were watering. The pain was not worth it… "Anyway, this boy needs a home. Do you know of who we should talk to about it?"

Professor Blubber scratched his chin. "Unfortunately, there's not an orphanage here. I'm sure I could have him sent to a very prestigious school near Mint Mountain—"

"NO!" I yelled. That place was _hell_. Professor Blubber gave me an odd look. "I mean, I don't think he would like that school. Is there any other option?"

"Well, the closest orphanage is in Vintage Village. They've gotten great support since that huge fire. I would also ask Nurse…" Professor Blubber paused for a moment. "Your mother."

Aw, crap. Another topic I had been hoping to avoid.

"Speaking of which, have you talked to her yet? She was very worried about you—usually complains you do not call enough. She's always asking her new apprentice—that boy you left Cape Caution with—to try calling you."

I blanched. "New apprentice?"

"You know, that boy that always wears a Pokemon League cap with brown hair, hazel eyes? His name is Sam… no that's not it. Maybe Jack…?"

"Zach," I whispered. No, this could NOT be happening…

"Yeah, Zach, that was his name!" Professor Blubber exclaimed.

I determinedly forced myself to relax. "Professor, would it be possible for me and my friends to stay at your house?"

Professor Blubber sighed. "Erin, I know you and your mother have your differences, but she cares about you a lot. For your own sake, I am going to have to decline. Family is too important. In fact," Professor Blubber looked at his watch. "why don't you go to the Pokemon Center now so your mother can see you. I have to finish up a few things here…"

"But, Professor, Liam and I can help you here, in the lab! What do you need done?" I asked frantically.

Professor Blubber gave me the I'm-an-adult-so-I-know-better-than-you smile. I _hate _those. "Actually, there is something that I need." He fished his hand around in his large lab coat pocket, finally pulling out a Pokeball. "This newly caught Bellsprout needs to be healed. I'm trusting you to get it to the Pokemon Center. You won't let me down, will you?"

In a last ditch effort, I said, "But Anita will not know where we are! We have to stay here until she finishes the gym battle!"

Professor Blubber laughed. "You think she'll come back here after she battles Sparky?" The professor snorted. "More likely, she'll go straight to the emergency room. And where is that, my dear stubborn assistant?"

"The Pokemon Center…" I mumbled.

"Exactly! Now run along!"

…Well, that sucks.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yelled into the phone. The perfectly aligned paperclips on my desk vibrated with my voice. I pounded my hand on the desk, knocking all of the paperclips to the floor, partially because the paperclip vibrations were annoying, but mostly because I was talking to a fucking moron who couldn't do a fucking thing right.

"I'm…I'm sorry Mr. Arkle, but…" The imbecile on the other end of the line lowered his voice. "I got caught."

"No fucking kidding!"

There was the barest murmur through the phone. "You didn't swear so much when you hired me…"

"Because you hadn't fucked up and I wasn't fucking angry!"

"So… when will you get me out? When can I try again?"

"I cannot believe I assigned a moron like you to this task. Not only did you fail to get the information I need, but you called me _from jail_ expecting me to 'get you out'. Sorry sweetie, but there are no fucking second chances in Team Glop'emm, and certainly no bailouts. You fail, you lose." I slammed the phone into the receiver.

Dear Arceus, G-d, Creator, what idiots were they letting into Team Glop'emm these days?

I squeezed the arms of my leather chair in frustration and stared at the electric clock that sat on my desk, next to the 'Acting Master: Jamie Arkle' sign. Twenty minutes until my next meeting.

My decision was made before I even rose from the chair. There was a saying: _If you want something done right, do it yourself._ I never believed it. I still don't believe it. _ If you want something done right, yell at and fire (or kill) every moron that does it wrong. Eventually, you'll stumble upon a moron that can do it right._

Unfortunately, I did not have time for that.

Thus, I'd have to settle with the first saying.

I quickly locked my office and slipped into the elevator, pressing the ground button.

After navigating the maze of windowless halls, I finally reached the outside world. It was a cloudless, windless day. I took a glance back at our facility. From the outside, the austere grey building looked like another typical office building.

Wasting no time, I began my swift trek down the road to the City Hall.

The street was fairly crowded, with a few hundred inept businessmen doing their best to take as long of a lunch break as possible. When I passed a series of overrated restaurants, the shrill voices of upset children and their mothers rang in my ears. I sped my walking.

As I took a short cut through the park, I saw Rita Teal's despicable blue hair bobbing with the irksome chirping of Pidgeys. What the hell was _she_ doing here? She sat on a park bench, now completely within my view, grinning like a mad woman and throwing bread to the loud Pidgeys. I caught her eye, and was unsuccessful in wiping away her smile.

We then both continued on as if we did not know or care about the other's existence.

When I ruled Team Glop'emm, that freak would be the first to go.

The City Hall was just outside of the park. The building was round, like a tire, with minor offices in the outer rings and important offices in the middle. I, of course, was headed towards neither. My long fingers gently caressed the two Pokeballs I was preparing use.

I entered the building through the main entrance. The pretty secretary at the front desk looked up at me, startled by my quick entry.

"Good day, sir. Can I see some form of identification?" she asked.

"No," I snickered. I pressed the release button on the Pokeballs I had been holding. "Magnemite, Hypno, make sure I am not caught."

"Just who—" the idiot woman was cut off as Hypno swung her pendulum. I turned and strutted down the hall.

By now, the woman was probably drooling in her sleep. Magnemite and Hypno were accustomed to break-ins. Magnemite would disrupt the cameras and other electronic security, while Hypno ensured nobody saw me, or at least remembered seeing me.

The basement door was easy to find. Unfortunately, it was locked with the DNA technology Rita Teal had installed. Oh, the irony.

{Hypno,} I called, knowing she would hear my thoughts. {I need the thumbprint of a knocked out security guard.}

Not twenty seconds later, an unconscious security guard was floating towards me. I took his thumb and pressed it to the DNA scanner. "Access denied," a cool automated voice said. I was tempted to have Hypno shatter the door to pieces. But, no, I wanted my presence to go undetected.

There was one person in the building who I was sure would have access to this door. {Fetch the mayor,} I ordered before mentally cursing the Master. If it were not for that snooty teen, Hypno would be able to psychically open the door. Being the paranoid bastard he was, he ensured all doors locked with DNA scanners were twined with dark material so they could not be psychically tampered with.

As demanded, Hypno brought me the mayor in a sleepy trance, and as expected, the door swung open.

I carefully stepped down into the dark basement, feeling the wall for a light switch. When I reached the bottom, my hand felt the switch, and one dull bulb flickered to life. The basement was huge, running under almost the entire building. Several storage boxes and cleaning items were strewn about, as if someone had thrown them from the top of the staircase.

I quickly flicked my eyes across the garbage, looking for what I came here for—

The computer.

I found it leaning against a wall, like an old man.

This particular computer was the private database of Drape Town. Because it held personal information—like tax money paid—of all the individuals in Drape Town, it was on a different server than any other computer. It also did not have Internet, making it virtually unhackable, without physically being at the computer.

Which I now fortunately was.

I took out another Pokeball and spoke as the red release light flashed. "Porygon2, I want you to find all information regarding the Mendol family or the current gym leader, especially past residencies."

The cyber Pokemon appeared before me, and then seemed to be shrunk into the USB port. I strummed my fingers across the keyboard as the computer whirred, impatient for the results.

After five minutes, the screen blinked. Porygon2 appeared on the screen, cocking its head at me. Next to the virtual Pokemon words appeared:

_Zero Results Found_


	28. Chaos Established

Chapter 26: Chaos Established

It was amazing how quickly Ditto was able to adapt. In only a matter of seconds, Sticky was pecking at the tossed bread just like the other Pidgeys. If a Ditto could become acclimated this quickly, a Pokemon that could transform _and_ read minds would likely show zero signs of transformation.

Professor Blubber's research had illustrated that in extreme environments, there was a difference in behavior before the Ditto fully adjusted. Unfortunately, the Anita Parkwood façade had existed in Acceber for about six years, more than enough time for Mew to settle in as a human.

I grinned. Luckily, with the discovery I had made just hours ago, none of this mattered. As it turned out, my request for Professor Blubber's help had been completely unnecessary. Now it was just a matter of finding an opportune time to contact the Master. Exchanging letters via flying Pokemon was not a safe enough method of communication for this important information. I would have to get a hold of Jamie's walkie…

As if fate had been reading my mind, I looked up and there Mr. Arkle was, glaring at me as he strode quickly by my bench. I broke the eye contact first and leaned back on the bench, my eyes closed. "Sticky, get a good look at his belt," I murmured, barely moving my lips.

When I was positive Jamie was well out of hearing range, I opened my eyes. "Sticky, did you see the grey walkie-talkie on his belt?"

The transformed Ditto shook its head. Perfect. I pulled out a Pokeball. "Twix, let's go!" Twix, my faithful Pidgeot, cooed and extended her wings as she was released. I climbed onto her back. "To the lab, quickly," I ordered.

With just one powerful flap, we were lifted off the ground and speeding past the Drape Town locals. Wind whipped my dyed-blue hair from my face as I looked back to ensure Sticky was following us.

Twix gracefully landed in front of Team Glop'emm's headquarters and I returned both Sticky and Twix to their Pokeballs. I practically jogged through the twisted corridors to the elevator and then to the Master's office.

Glancing about to make sure nobody saw me, I pressed my thumb to the DNA scanner next to the office door. The scanner allowed me to enter, of course. I had programmed it.

The office was somehow bleaker than when the Master had occupied it. The black blinds were completely closed, and the desk seemed a little too organized. There was no sign of the walkie-talkie atop the desk.

I pulled out two Pokeballs and pressed the release button. Two pink blobs appeared. "Sticky, I want you to transform into Magnemite. Remember, like Mr. Arkle's? Mess with all the bugs in this room so it seems like I was never here. Spud," I called to the other Ditto. "I probably need you over here."

While Sticky transformed into Magnemite, I tiptoed around the desk, careful not to bump the plush chair, and tested the top left drawer. As expected, it was locked.

"Spud, you know what to do."

Spud slid to my side and stuck a gooey strand into the keyhole. An instant later, the drawer clicked open.

I patted Spud on what seemed to be his head—it was always hard to tell when he was a blob—and peered into the drawer. There were several pencils, notecards, and staples, but no walkie. We tried three more drawers before I finally spotted the little communication device.

Before picking up the walkie, I rummaged in my lab coat pocket for a rubber glove to avoid fingerprints. I lifted the walkie-talkie out of the drawer and pressed the green button.

There was a dull buzzing sound, and then—

"Yes?"

"Master, it's Rita."

There was silence. For a moment I thought he might have hung up. "Odd. I was going to call you." His voice was tense.

"For what?" I asked.

"I have just been informed that you contacted Professor Blubber to assist in a research project that was supposed to remain only within Team Glop'emm's labs." The Master's tone was icy.

My mouth was dry. "Master, I thought the Professor's input would be useful. The Professor and I have known each other for years. I did not explain the whole project—"

"Was it?"

"Pardon?"

The Master asked more harshly. "Was the Professor's input useful?"

"Well, a bit—"

"It is a simple question. Answer with a yes or no."

"No."

"Next time you get a brainless urge to involve those outside of Team Glop'emm in a research project, you will contact me."

"Yes, sir."

"Now," the Master continued, "why did you call?"

"I have news." I found it hard to speak in a cohesive manner and wondered if others had similar problems when they spoke with the teen. I forced my mouth to work. "I have been working with one of my Dittos for over a week now to learn English, and have been extremely successful. The Pokemon already has the vocabulary of a six-year-old child. Also, as you requested, I had a few of my assistants investigate the Parkwood family. Every person interrogated reported that Anita seemed to have a strange bond with wild Pokemon when she was younger. Just as you suspected, the Parkwood family arrived in Melonbi Town just months before your father battled Pokemon X on the outskirts of Melonbi Town."

"Is this all you had to report? A letter would have sufficed—"

"No, Master." My hand flew to my mouth. I had just interrupted the Master. My worst nightmares were about to come true—I would be fired and then I would have not money for research and then—

"I'm waiting."

I blinked and breathed out slightly in relief. "Earlier today, I was comparing the DNA brain samples of a Ditto transformed into a Rattata to those of a Rattata. Specifically, I was comparing hippocampus DNA. The hippocampus is—"

"—where long term memory is stored. I know this, Rita."

"Of course. When a Ditto transforms, its memories remain the same. Thus, the hippocampus cannot shift as much as the rest of the body during transformation."

"All Pokemon have a hippocampus that is relatively the same shape," the Master stated.

"Yes. If it was just normal long-term memory the Ditto had to preserve, I would have likely never found a major difference in DNA." I knew after I said that sentence, the Master would stop interrupting me. "Ditto and Pokemon X are both able to mimic the DNA of any Pokemon they see. When a Ditto sees a Pokemon, it's body automatically creates and stores a copy of the Pokemon's DNA. I can only assume Pokeamon X's body works the same way. When transformed into a Pokemon, Ditto must preserve its own DNA in order to have the ability to return to its original form. Neither Ditto nor Pokemon X can transform directly from one Pokemon to another without returning to its original form. Thus, when in its original form, the different Pokemon DNA must be actually embedded into the original body. But I stray from my point… I figured that some part of the hippocampus DNA had to be different in the Ditto because the Ditto must have a way to recall its entire original genome instantly. Today, I found that difference."

"Rita, you are brilliant."

Coming from the master, that was quite a complement.

"Now that we know what part of the brain stimulates transformation, it should be fairly simple to create a device that forces transformation. A week from today, perhaps…" I trailed. Then I remembered what one of my assistants had proved yesterday, leading to my discovery today. "There is another difference you should know between a transformed Ditto and a Pokemon—Ditto cannot evolve when transformed. In a transformed Ditto, the part of the hippocampus that safely holds its original genome replaces the part of the hippocampus most Pokemon have containing the DNA of any evolutions."

"Interesting…" There was silence for almost half of a minute. "Ensure that Jamie does not discover this conversation. Master out."

I replaced the walkie-talkie in the drawer and carefully left the room, returning my Dittos to their Pokeballs. My heart thumped unevenly in excitement as I rode the elevator down to my laboratory.

I lived for this—

For the mind-boggling buzz after a new discovery.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

{Anita! Anita! It's time to get up! It's been time to get up for the past… I don't know, but it was a long time! Anita!}

Something wet dragged across my face.

I opened my eyes, and nearly jumped in surprise when I found Splash hovering over my face. The Eevee's ears drooped just above my nose. {Finally!} Splash exclaimed, his ears swiftly shooting up in joy, causing me to sneeze.

I sat up. "What… what happened? Where…?" I was stunned into silence as I took in my surroundings. Splash and I were sitting in some sort of glass sphere. Two thick bands of metal ran through the glass, splitting the sphere into four sections.

I looked down through the glass section Splash and I were occupying, and noted that the sphere seemed to sink into the white floor, like it was on top of a giant pillow. I looked out the other glass sections of the sphere, only to find more white. Apparently, the sphere was in a quite creepy blank room.

When I did not see any holes in the sphere, I randomly wondered how long it would take for us to suffocate.

I turned to Splash and asked again, {What happened?}

{Well, when I was let out of my Pokeball, you were asleep and an old sparkly guy—} Images of a bright, laughing silhouette flashed through my mind. Right, I was in a gym. So this must be the…{—was here. And he did this funny electricity thing—like a Pikachu—to put this giant Pokeball together.}

I waited for Splash to keep explaining, but he seemed to be finished. {What do you mean, we're in a giant Pokeball…?} I questioned.

{Well, we're in a giant sphere so it must be a Pokeball! 'Cause what else is a sphere? Well, actually, oranges, and basketballs, and suns, and—}

{Enough! So is there anything else I should be aware of about our situation? For instance, knowing how to beat this prelim would be nice…}

{Nope!} Splash answered happily. As he crouched down, he noticed his breath was causing the glass beneath him to smog up. Thus, he simply _had _to press his nose up against the glass several times to make random shapes—or beautiful art. Splash and I were of different opinions.

I rolled my eyes and got to my feet. Well, maybe getting out of this sphere was the prelim. I pressed my hand against the metal—

_BZZZT_

I yelped in pain and pulled my hand back from the metal band. Splash was distracted from the smiley face he was making. {Oh yeah, the shiny stuff is electric!}

I glared. {And you were going to tell me this when?}

Splash shrugged. {You're the psychic. I thought you'd know!}

Annoyed, I growled, {Is there anything _else_ I should know, that I might not know if I wasn't a psychic?}

{Err, how about using a double negative confuses people?}

I had been awake, for what, maybe two minutes and I was already tempted to bang my head against the glass so I was knocked out again. Or maybe electrocuting myself would be more efficient…

Splash wasn't finished. {And, there was that message the sparkly guy told me to tell you…}

I stared at Splash in disbelief.

{He said to win, all you had to do was sharpen the pencil!}

If I stared at Splash before in disbelief, I don't know _what_ my face looked like when I stared at Splash now…

{…Sharpen a pencil?}

{Yup!} Splash pointed a paw. {Look!}

I peered through the glass to where he was pointing. There, on the ground, was a classic wooden number two pencil lying next to an electric pencil sharpener.

{So I just have to get the pencil into the sharpener?}

Splash was getting distracted again—inspecting his paw prints on the glass.

I sighed. If Apple had taught me telekinesis already, this would be easy. Hmm, there was the possibility that Apple was near enough to help… I reached out with my mind but felt no one but Splash in my range.

Okay, so I would have to do this myself. I could try to use telekinesis.

I focused on the pencil and slowly became aware of each particle making up the entire entity. I could feel every wooden grain surrounding the thin column of graphite. I was one with the pencil. Oh, yeah. A dream come true.

But nothing happened.

The pencil would not budge.

When Splash got so bored he started playing with my hair, I decided it was time for a different approach.

My mind shot forward to create a barrier under the pencil… only to be stopped by the rather solid floor. Apple says barriers can be made inside of solids, but I had yet to figure out how that worked.

My head was knocked forward, forcing me back to my body. {Ow, Splash, cut it out! I'm trying to concentrate!}

{Lemme help, lemme help!}

{This is kinda a psychic thing, Splash,} I explained. With that, I tried again.

And again.

After several failed attempts, I made a barrier next to the pencil, but I couldn't get the barrier to move, which would have allowed me to push the pencil. Frustrated, I slammed my fist down, and was shocked yet again.

{Ouch!} I shook my hand out.

The sphere moved a little from the force of my punch. {Ooh, look how squishy the ground is!} Splash exclaimed. He moved our giant trap-ball-thing a little more and was immensely amused when the sphere sunk into the floor.

{Splash, you're brilliant!} I created a curvy barrier a little ways away from the pencil and pressed more barriers on top. The force of the barriers caused the floor around the barriers to sink, and the pencil rolled down onto the curved barrier. I dissipated the weight barriers so my curved barrier and the pencil sprung upwards. Just as gravity was about to pull the pencil back to the ground, I caught it with yet another barrier.

{That was awesome! You got the pencil to float!} My concentration nearly snapped.

{Splash, still concentrating here! Hush up!} I ordered. Now I just had to figure out how to get the pencil into—

{Why did you need to bounce the pencil to make it float?} Ugh, Splash was going to ruin everything! When I attempted to block him from my mind, I nearly destroyed my barrier. It was hard to block out just one being— I could either block out nothing of everything. {Couldn't you just move it with you're mind? Maybe—}

{SPLASH!} I lost concentration and the pencil fell. {Now look what you've done! I need to concentrate! That means you NOT talking!}

Splash's ears flicked back, and I immediately regretted what I'd said. I reached out to comfort him, but he flinched away.

{Splash… Look, I'm sorry.} I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. I showed Splash how I was trying to move the pencil to the pencil sharpener and how I made barriers, emphasizing the concentration needed to be successful.

I also saw Splash's yearning to help and his disappointment when I continually shut him down. I expected Splash's mind to be unorganized and random. However, I found Splash had a rather logical perspective.

The images of my barriers I had shown Splash continued to flash through his mind as he attempted to make sense of the memories. Only seconds later, Splash showed me an image of the pencil sharpener on a tilted barrier and the pencil sliding down a barrier-made slide into the pencil sharpener.

Without leaving Splash's mind, I attempted his set up. I easily bounced the pencil sharpener into position. The pencil, however, ended up facing the wrong way so I had to create a barrier slide that curved around into the sharpener.

{Ready?} I asked Splash. We weren't watching the setup with our eyes; I was feeling it with my mind and showing the images to Splash automatically, as our minds were still entwined.

Splash's setup worked perfectly. The pencil easily slid into the sharpener.

I opened my eyes and found Splash already in my arms, licking my face. I lifted the Eevee and spun around.

"Yes! We did it!" I cheered.

{And it was all my idea,} Splash added smugly.

"Yes it was." I paused.

Silence.

"Shouldn't we be let out of here now?"

Splash and I peered through the glass at the pencil sharpener. The pencil was in the sharpener…

{It's not plugged in.}

WHAT THE HELL! WHO FREAKIN MAKES THE PRELIM SHARPENING A PENCIL, ANYWAY? THE GYM LEADER COULD AT LEAST MAKE SURE HIS STUPID ELECTRIC PENCIL SHARPENER WAS PLUGGED IN TO AN ELECTRICAL OUTLET. BUT NOOOO, THE MORON HAD TO STICK US IN AN EMPTY ROOM IN A GERBIL BALL! WHEN I GOT OUT OF HERE, I WAS GOING TO GIVE HIM A PIECE—

{ANITA!}

Splash was staring past me. I followed his gaze.

The pencil sharpener was blown to bits.

"…Oops…"

{I think you killed the pencil. Actually, it was more like a violent murder.} It took me a few seconds to locate the pencil among the pencil sharpener debris. It was not a pretty sight. The top of the pencil had been blown off somewhere. I doubted it was still a full piece. The piece of pencil that was left was jaggedly cut across the top, wood shards sticking out at awkward angles.

_HHIISSSS_

The gerbil ball opened up, and I gratefully breathed in the fresh air.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, my young pinecone, but I suppose the pencil _is_ sharp now," a voice cackled.

I turned around. {Did he just call me a pinecone?} I asked Splash.

{You are kinda like a Pineco,} Splash commented. {With the whole exploding at random times…}

Before me stood a wrinkly man in jeans and a dark jacket made of a bizarre material (was it rubber?). The man's peculiar stormy eyes had the eccentricity and excitement of a five-year-old, but what really unnerved me was the way his grey hair stood up from the random sparks that seemed to be radiating from his head.

"Well, don't just stand there gaping," the old man said. He held out his hand, grinning madly. "I'm Sparky, the gym leader of Cape Caution."

"Nice to meet you," I answered, carefully not taking the man's hand. I had the feeling it would have been a rather shocking experience. Then I remembered I had a reprimanding sermon to deliver to this particular wacko. "What the HELL was that prelim about?" I yelled. "Sharpening a pencil? What does that have to do with electricity? What does that teach me? That electric pencil sharpeners are freakin' unreliable? Do I get one of those ridiculous plastic pencil sharpeners when I beat you! You must be a twisted old drunk and lonely man! A real fu—"

"Tsk, tsk. Watch your language, my young pinecone, for there are innocent ears listening." Sparky laughed, sending a wave of sparks through his hair. "Come now. We must fetch the Pokemon you intend to use in battle." The gym leader swerved and walked impossibly fast—for an old man—out of a door I had not noticed. Where had that come from?

I walked after the gym leader. Splash hesitated, lightly leapt through the debris, and picked up the half exploded pencil between his canines before following me. We walked down a dull narrow hallway and stopped at a room that was an exact replica of the prelim room, minus the giant gerbil ball. Three Pokeballs and one perturbed Apple lay in the middle of the room.

Apple immediately leapt into my arms. {Are you okay?}

I nodded, and we quickly exchanged memories. I showed Apple the prelim, and Apple showed me how Sparky had put an incredibly strong shock through my body—I caught a whiff of Apple's guilt from not creating a protective barrier fast enough. Sparky, apparently, had then told me to choose three Pokemon for battle and one for the prelim. Realizing my mind was not functional enough to make a decision, Apple had psychically made me pick up Splash's Pokeball while she grabbed two others. Then Sparky had taken her to this room and me to a room her psychic would not affect…

I grinned at Apple, touched by how much worry there was in her mind. There were several instances she had considered breaking out of the room psychically to find me, even though it would have exposed her. {Thank goodness you didn't,} I said lightly.

{I kept reminding myself it was just a prelim, which, considering you last prelim, did not help very much…}

{So who'd you choose for battle?} I asked curiously.

{Who you would have chosen—me, Fiery, and Allo.}

{So there are advantages to having an over intrusive Eevee constantly in my mind…}

{I know you wouldn't have chosen Splash for the prelim. Probably Sunflower… But you don't know your Pokemon as well as I do.}

Opening my mind up to Splash as well, I said, {Splash was wonderful. I couldn't have done it without him.} Splash gave me a toothy smile, still holding the pencil like it was a trophy, before I picked up his Pokeball and pressed the return button.

Picking up my other Pokeballs, I asked Sparky, "Where to now?"

Sparky cackled for probably a full minute before answering, "Down, of course."

Then I was falling.

{I officially dub this gym leader more insane than Aden,} was my first thought to Apple. My second thought was something like, {I'm too young to plunge to my death!}

We stopped plummeting due to the barrier I created; it was like a glass floor. I looked up. The floor of the room we had been standing in—the ceiling of this room—was closing back up. I was reminded of Aden's remote control bridge. When I looked down, I found myself looking at a floor made of dirt only three or four yards away. The walls of the room were made of stone, with some spots giving off extremely bright light.

{Nice barrier!} Apple exclaimed.

I noticed that Sparky had landed on what looked like a large waterbed and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. He must be used to randomly making trainers fall into his stadium. I released my barrier and landed nimbly on the dirt floor.

I was pretty proud of myself for making it look graceful.

{Ow!} Apple yelled at me. {You could have warned me you were about to do that, you know! Now my tail hurts!}

{You're supposed to be psychic.}

{And you're supposed to be my _thoughtful_ and _considerate_ trainer! There is obviously a huge gap between reality and what is expected—} Apple started.

{Well, I expect you to shut up!}

Apple smugly retorted, {But, see, that's not the reality! I have some very important information, which you will just have to listen to if you want to win. While you were injuring my precious tail, I was trying to get into Sparky's mind. And it kinda hurt.}

{Yes, generally falling hurts whatever body part—}

{No, I mean entering his mind. It was physically painful, and confusing, and…}

{Shocking?} I suggested.

{Exactly!}

{Somehow, I'm not surprised.}

"Finally!"

I looked away from Apple. Mel was standing in front of me, hands on his hips.

"Do you know how long I was waiting? It's a good thing Sparky is the coolest person ever, otherwise I'd be pretty upset about having to wait so long for you two to battle! At first, when I wanted to help speed up your task-thing, Sparky was mean 'cause he wouldn't let me go. But then he started showing me the coolest stuff, and we played this game where I had to dodge his electric bolts—"

I think my eyes nearly popped out of my head. "He WHAT?"

"I was never hit! I turned invisible or went through the wall."

I turned to Sparky, who was smiling mildly. "Are you INSANE? Mel is a kid! He's not even a challenger! And you're just casually throwing electric bolts that, oh, might kill him! How the hell are you a gym leader?"

"Young pinecone, in this gym you will use three Pokemon. It will be a single battle, with no switching. You may not physically come in contact with your opponent's Pokemon, your Pokemon, or your opponent, but you may assist your Pokemon in any other way."

"Are you ignoring me!"

Sparky cackled, "Of course not. I'm answering your question." In a flash of red, an Electrode appeared.

"Mel, do not interfere, and stay out of the way," I ordered.

"Well, duh! What part of I can't wait to see you two battle did you not understand?" Mel replied, before disappearing.

"Go, Apple!"

There was a single intense moment that nothing happened. Apple stared at the Electrode, the Electrode stared back.

Then sparks flew, literally.

Apple and I both threw up psychic barriers. The electric bolts were not just coming from the Electrode, but from Sparky as well, and they were aimed at both me and Apple.

"Rollout!" I heard Sparky yell. The Electrode stopped shooting sparks. Sparky, unfortunately did not. I had to continuously keep pulsing energy into my barrier, which was now a large dome encompassing me, Apple, and the Electrode to keep from being electrocuted by Sparky. Apple fed me some of her power to strengthen my barrier.

{Dig,} I ordered. Apple disappeared below the ground and the Electrode missed.

"Spark Anita." The sound was faint, and the barrier was getting to be too much for me. I knew the Electode's bolts were heading right towards me…

Apple put a barrier up in front of me. {I'll deal with the Electrode. You just keep Sparky from turning us all into fried chicken.}

Apple popped out of the ground, but the Electrode was already out of the way. Bright lights and sparks were everywhere. I winced when the weight on my barrier increased.

{Stay with it, Anita!} Apple called as she dodged another rollout. Her tail lit up, and she managed to bat the Electrode away.

The Electrode grinned and sent another thunderbolt our way.

{Apple, you've got to keep trying dig. It's the only attack that will really hurt!} Apple dug underground as she put up another barrier to protect me from the Electrode's thunderbolt.

My barrier faltered. Bright lights, stabbing pain, my ears screamed at me—

Panting, I managed to throw the barrier back up. Sparks whispered in my ears to give in to the pain, to let the knives attack. My mind whirled. All I knew was to keep up the barrier.

I saw strange images. A large Pokeball rolling into a hole, a purple sky, a laughing old man mouthing something.

{Anita—}

The ground exploded. I was thrown backwards into the wall, along with mounds of dirt and a few sharp pebbles. The wall shuddered with me and the thousands of tiny needles that seemed to be poking into my back. I fell to the ground, groaning.

I thought for sure I would black out.

Somehow I didn't.

Panting, I called, {Apple?}

No reply. I lifted my heavy head and squinted into the giant crater that now made up the center of the stadium, thanks to what I assumed had the Electrode's explosion. I did not see Apple or the Electrode so I crawled forward a bit to get a closer look—

The earth gave way below me and I tumbled down into the crater, dirt getting caught in my fingernails as I uselessly tried to stop my fall.

I wouldn't have seen Apple if I hadn't slid right over, she was so covered in grime. I lifted her into my arms. {Apple?}

She was knocked out. I took a deep breath, summoned my powers, and slid into her mind. I was surprised by how easily my powers came, despite the huge strain I had just undergone. Everything was dark in Apple's mind so I sank to a deeper level. Everything was still dark. {Apple?} I tentatively called again.

Apple, in her Mew form, appeared in front of me, with a surprised look on her face. {What are you doing here? I've fainted.}

{I wanted to make sure you're okay. That was a major explosion.}

{Don't you have a battle to get back to?}

{Well, yeah,} I said sheepishly.

{Then get moving!}

I jolted back into my body and blinked as my eyes adjusted.

"Will you send out your next Pokemon, already!" Sparky yelled. I looked up. Sparky was grinning down at me from the edge of the crater, with a Pokeball in his hand. My barrier must have kept the damage from Electrode's explosion inside the barrier because Sparky appeared completely unharmed, as did the walls and ceiling of the stadium.

I picked up Apple and trudged my way up the steep slope, out of the crater. My legs burned with each step. Once, I slipped slightly and almost slid all the way back down. I caught Sparky's eye, which was still filled with a wild excitement, and I wondered if I had drained the gym leader's powers at all.

When I reached the top, I laid Apple down behind me. Too bad Sparky had confiscated my pack—there was some medicine I could have given Apple in there. I pulled out another Pokeball.

"Go, Allo!"

Sparky laughed and released a Jolteon.

I prepared my mind for Sparky's onslaught, well aware that without Apple, I probably would not be able to withstand the pressure for more than thirty seconds at best.

Sparky laughed. For some reason I got the feeling he was laughing at me. "Thundershock," he ordered. I was surprised when he did not try to electrocute me. Perhaps I _had_ drained some of his energy…

My main advantage in this battle would be telepathy; Sparky would not be able to predict my moves. {Dodge, then quick attack, Allo.}

Allo managed to avoid getting shocked, and ran at the Jolteon. Faster than I could see, the Jolteon was gone.

{Behind you!} I yelled. I threw up a barrier to stop the Jolteon's pin missile from hitting Allo.

{Allo, you've got to move faster!}

{I'm trying, I'm trying!}

"Sparkles, quick attack to get in close! Then let's shock them!"

Sparkles—which was apparently the Jolteon's name—was on Allo, faster than I could throw my mind forward. {Sand attack!} I called, in hopes of dissipating the speed advantage.

It was too late. Allo was knocked out with the single thunderbolt/quick attack combo I failed to block.

I murmured a "Nice try," as Allo was returned to his Pokeball. I released Fiery.

Immediately, Sparky had Sparkles fire off a few thunderbolts, all of which Fiery was able to dodge or I was able to block with a barrier. I knew it wouldn't last. This time when Sparkles closed in for a physical attack, I'd be ready. Fiery would be ready.

{Fiery, heat up your body temperature,} I ordered. {Get ready to use ember.}

You know in Star Wars or Star Trek or Star Whatever how the starships look when they go from normal space-time to faster than light travel? Well, that's what it looked like when Sparkles started running in a quick attack.

Like right now. "Quick attack and thunderbolt, Sparkles!" Sparky chuckled, "No dodging that!"

The Jolteon was sparking as it took off towards Fiery. Fiery would be electrocuted before he could pull off an ember… unless—

{Iron-tail. Use iron-tail, but hold onto that ember!}

Fiery's attack was a moment too late. Sparkles used thunderbolt while in contact with Fiery, but Fiery was able to maneuver the Jolteon away before he was seriously hurt. Fiery's tail slammed Sparkles to the ground.

{Ember, now!}

Standing above Sparkles, Fiery breathed fire down onto the Jolteon. Sparkles' fur caught on fire.

Sparkles attempted to use another thunderbolt, but Fiery was far away enough from Sparkles for me to create a barrier between the two Pokemon. Sparkles used the distraction to scramble away from Fiery, back towards Sparky.

{Fiery, keep it up! Get after it and use ember!}

Fiery sprinted toward the Jolteon at full speed. There was a moment that I thought Sparkles would just stand there, and let the attack hit. The Jolteon was burnt and had been hit by Fiery's iron tail. There was no way the Pokemon could move as quickly as before, but I had expected him to at least try to escape—

Sparkles disappeared before Fiery hit. What my eyes could not see, my mind could feel. {Fiery, quick attack, on your left!}

I did not understand. Sparkles should be hurt—how was that Jolteon still moving so quickly?

Fiery and Sparkles collided, as did Fiery's flames and Sparkles' sparks. Both Pokemon were forced backwards. Fiery was panting hard… but Sparkles was hardly panting. I narrowed my eyes.

{Fiery, I need to figure out why your attacks don't seem to be affecting Sparkles. Keep dodging—I'm going to enter their minds.}

Fiery nodded and ducked under a random thunderbolt.

Apple had warned me about Sparky so I would enter Sparkles' mind instead. I easily listened to the Jolteon's thoughts, but the Pokemon, unfortunately, seemed completely absorbed in the battle. For the most part, Sparkles did not even think—he only carried out the commands of his trainer. Occasionally a random thought about a new way to dodge one of Fiery's ember attacks or how to more effectively execute a thunderbolt would wander across Sparkles' mind.

I found I had a lot of trouble delving any deeper into Sparkles' mind. I did not have a connection with Sparkles like I had with Apple, or even with my other Pokemon. Eventually, I decided it would be far easier and faster to try Sparky's mind, despite Apple's warning.

Sparky felt brighter than any creature I had come across before. Tentatively, I touched a thin strand of my power to Sparky's mind. Immediately, I doubled over in pain. The knives and needles had returned, trying to wheedle me into letting go of the connection, stopping the pain. But no, there was something I had… had to figure out? Maybe… if only I could remember what it was…

My vision blurred, becoming a swirl of bright lights.

Lightning flashed across the sky… a Jolteon running… a thundershock coming from the Jolteon in a dusty room… a Flareon and Jolteon colliding… electric bolts racing towards an injured Jolteon… a smiling Jolteon… electric bolts racing towards a girl with purple eyes…

Purple eyes—I had purple eyes! I broke the connection and the pain receded, leaving only a massive headache. I reviewed the images that had briefly flashed through my mind when I touched Sparky's mind.

Duh. I couldn't believe it was so obvious.

{Sparky's healing Sparkles with his powers,} I explained to Fiery. {That's why he hasn't been attacking my directly! He's been too busy feeding his electricity to Sparkles. Jolteons are able to absorb electricity and use the absorbed electricity to recover… my teacher called it volt absorb back in elementary school…}

Fiery used his tail to bat away Sparkles when the Jolteon tried another physical attack. {So what are you going to do about it?}

{I'm going to cut off Sparky. It will probably take all of my concentration so you might be on your own. Just keep with the iron-tail and ember!}

I sent out my mind and created a dome-shaped barrier around Sparky. Instantly, there was a great pressure on my mind. I focused on the flawless surface of my barrier, on its durability, on its shape…

I couldn't help losing concentration for swift milliseconds because of the battle. I saw Fiery smash down his lit up tail—aiming for Sparkles but denting only the ground. Later, I noticed Fiery's tired stance. I was pleased to see Sparkles wincing a bit, too.

The pressure on my barrier continued to build. My brain hurt. Images fizzed and then went fuzzy—

Sparky broke through.

My first reaction was to throw up a barrier around myself so I was protected from Sparky's electric bolts.

My second reaction was too slow. The moment I put up a barrier around myself, I realized Fiery had been left unguarded. Unfortunately, in that moment, both Sparky and Sparkles chose to attack Fiery.

Fiery was knocked out.

My stomach churned, revolted by the turn of events.

Yes, the pun was intended.

I bent over and puked up my pride with the partially digested tomato-tuna sandwich I had for lunch.


	29. Fooled

THIS WAS A FALSE CHAPTER POSTED AS AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET ON WITH THE STORY, PLEASE SKIP TO NEXT CHAPTER.

IF NOT ALREADY POSTED, THE REAL CHAPTER 27 WILL BE POSTED WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK!

Foolish

{Focus, Anita.}

{I'm trying, but _someone_ keeps interrupting!}

Apple and I sat outside the doors of the Pokemon Center. I yawned. The sun wasn't even up yet. {You're not doing it right,} Apple said. {Don't think of it as moving the barrier—think of it as creating another barrier right next to the previously made one.}

{Oh, that's real helpful.} I shoved my mind forward and another barrier appeared next to the one I had been trying to move.

{You have to destroy and create the new barrier really quickly, and not so far apart—they'll be overlapping—}

{I don't know how you expect me to be able create and destroy a bunch of barriers within the same second— It takes a crapload of energy.} I yawned again. {…which I am severely lacking at five in the morning.}

{The energy's already mostly there when you create the first barrier. You have to use the energy dissipated by that barrier to make the second one.}

{Easy for you to say.}

{I think you need some moral support. Let out Fiery!}

{So you two can make lovey-dovey eyes at each other?}

Apple stuck out her tongue and I felt Fiery's Pokeball unclip from my belt. {Hey!}

There was a flash of red and…

Nothing happened.

"Uh, where's Fiery?" I asked out loud.

"He's up here."

I looked up. On top of the big red block letters that spelled out "Pokemon Center," there was a shadowy figure holding Fiery. When the figure turned his head, I saw a glint of green.

"Liam?" I asked.

Liam held Fiery out over the ground by the scruff of his neck. Fiery looked like he was knocked out.

"Liam," I said, starting to panic. "What are you doing?"

"None of your business."

"Oh, ok then. I respect your decision not to tell me anything."

"This business concerns Apple." Frowning, I turned to Apple. She shrugged.

"You cheated."

Apple rolled her eyes.

"Apple, damn it, you cheated on me with this—" Liam lifted Fiery higher. "—fleabag! How could you do it?"

I looked at Apple expectantly. She turned her head.

"Answer me!"

"Yeah, Apple, I thought you and Liam were forever and always or something," I said.

Small tear drops had started to form in Apple's eyes. {I'm pregnant, you jerk!}

"Apple says she's pregnant."

"Well that doesn't give her the right to cheat on me!"

{Yes it does, when you ignore me and start going all googly-eyed over every other fluffy tail you see!}

I repeated the accusation to Liam.

"That was only once, and it was a Ninetales—"

{And you told me you wouldn't pay half of the child support—}

"If this gets any more soap-opera-like, I'm going to go get popcorn." I said. "Apple's mad because you won't pay for your children. By the way, have you started considering names?"

"None of this explains why Apple cheated on me with a Flareon! He doesn't have money to pay for child support either."

"He's better looking," Erin snickered as she walked out of the Pokemon Center.

"Why are you up?" I asked.

"My spicy sense was tingling," Erin said, fanning her face with her hands. "Can't you feel the tension? It's hot."

Suddenly, Fiery opened his eyes. He smiled. {I have a confession to make.}

"Attention, everyone, Fiery has a confession."

Erin pulled a banana out of her pocket. She tossed it at Liam. "Here, take this pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert!"

"No, the devise I just threw you is a P-E-R-V-E-R-T. Pokemon Endearing Radio Verified to Eat Radishes and Translate."

"Translate what?" I asked.

"Pokemon!" Erin answered.

"Alright, Fiery, speak into the pervert."

"Apple, I never loved you."

Erin and I gasped. {And I was just trying to get your money,} Apple said.

"Apple says she's a gold-digger," I relayed.

"But Fiery never _had_ any gold!" Liam said.

"I have another confession," Fiery announced. We all turned our gazes to the Flareon, who Liam was still holding by the scruff of his neck. "Carly Goldenthrill fell in love with me and we're getting married and I'm going to be filthy stinkin' rich." Liam dropped the Flareon in disgust.

Erin dove forward to catch him…

But she missed and crashed into a tree. Fiery softened his landing with an iron tail.

"I have another confession," Fiery said again.

"Apple's going to be a bridesmaid?" I suggested.

"You secretly love reading trashy romance novels?" Erin said.

"You saved money by switching to Geico?" Liam asked.

"I'm a vampire." Fiery's canines grew.

"Right, and its going to rain eggs," I snorted.

Right on cue, an egg fell from the sky. A giant egg. An egg with glittery pink bubbles painted all over it.

It started cracking. There was a wave of purple smoke, and when it cleared, a highlighter pink Salamance was sitting amongst the broken egg bits.

{My name is Meragon,} she said. {It is my duty to be cliché, look fake, and make dramatic exits.} Meragon flapped her wings rapidly until she was off the ground. {I bit thee farewell.} She disappeared.

"I have another confession," Fiery declared.

We all sighed exasperatedly. You probably did, too.

"Meragon is my evil twin."

"Is she a vampire, too?" I asked.

"Why, Fiery? Why didn't you tell me you were a vampire? I don't think I can be your mistress anymore—"

"That's exactly why I couldn't tell you! I knew you couldn't deal!" Fiery answered. "Now our relationship is going to get really awkward."

"Because it wouldn't with you being married and all…" I said.

"Did it occur to anyone that Fiery's not human? I mean, how could a relationship like that even… work?" Liam said.

"You and Apple are different species," I pointed out.

"But our relationship didn't work out."

{Fiery, I've decided I'm madly in love with you because you are a vampire, and I've read that vampires make good husbands,} Apple said.

"Really?" Erin said. "Alright, Fiery, I'll still be your mistress."

"Wait, how did you understand Apple?" I asked.

"Huh, that's a good question. She's not psychic." Erin gasped. "Maybe I'm psychic!"

"Great. Now I have another suspect," Liam muttered.

"I have another confession," Fiery said yet again.

We gave him our full attention.

"I ate Splash."

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APRIL FOOLS!!!!

Seriously people, how long did you think this was a real chapter? If by the end you didn't know… well, erm… Happy April Fools Day!


	30. Worthwhile

Chapter 27: Worthwhile

"_Erin, wait! You forgot your Pokeball!" Zach yelled._

_I didn't slow my pace._

"_Erin!" I felt a hand on my shoulder and tried to shrug it off. Zach grabbed my hand._

"_Let go."_

"_You can't leave without your Pokemon." Zach placed Griffy's Pokeball in my free hand. "Wanna tell me what's up? I thought I was invited over for a goodbye dinner, but as I'm ringing the doorbell, your mother starts babbling about how you forgot Griffy and that she didn't want to go after you because you were in one of those 'moods'…"_

"_Yes, my mother still considers herself a teenager… immature," I mumbled._

"_Are you going to tell me why you're in a sour mood when it's your freaking birthday and you get to start your journey?"_

_I sighed and sat down in the frost-covered grass, not caring that my pants would get wet and my butt would freeze. I was surprised when Zach sat down next to me. "I'm tired of my family," I said._

"_Well, you're leaving now, right? So you won't have to deal with them anymore."_

"_You don't understand. Every time I talk… not even—it's every time my mom looks at me, she compares me to Melanie. 'Why don't you clean your room? Melanie always cleans her room!' ''You should hang out with your girlfriends more often. Melanie invites girls over all the time.' 'You were spectacular in Oliver, dear! Remember when Melanie…' It's like I'm not a person; I'm just Melanie's shadow. And then my dad nods in agreement and my sister just sits there, smiling like a moron." I looked Zach straight in the eye. "Do you know what my dream job is?"_

"_What?"_

"_To be an actress. But I can't."_

"_That's not true. Of course you can!"_

"_No, I can't. Because Melanie is an actress, a rising star or whatnot. And even if I was as good as her—even if I was better—I'd only be known because I'm Melanie's kid sister. I'd never be recognized for my talent."_

"_You know that's not true."_

"_Obviously I don't," I snarled. "Otherwise I wouldn't be on this journey in the first place. I'd go to high school and take extra drama classes and then try to get acknowledged by some famous fat producer."_

"_You could still do that."_

"_I don't want to. I want to do something worthwhile. I want to do research."_

_Zach cracked his knuckles in frustration. "So you want to become an actress but you don't want to so instead you're going to become a researcher? And I still don't understand why you're so upset because you're _leaving_ now!"_

_I felt the tears coming so I got up and started running._

"_Erin! Erin, wait!" Zach caught up with me quickly, pulling my arm back to stop me. When I nearly tripped from the tug, Zach held me until I regained my balance. "Look, Erin, I don't understand. I don't know if I can. But I do know that you're an amazing girl and my best friend. Look, this might be a bad time, but I was going to ask you at dinner. My birthday's in three weeks… and well, I was wondering, if maybe you'd want to wait so we could travel together. If you don't want to stay here because of your family, maybe we could meet up in Azul City or Tinted Town. Erin, I…umm, I really like you. Really, really."_

_Now the tears were really flowing. I smiled weakly at Zach, sniffled, and then gave him a hug. He didn't move or complain as I drenched his shoulder in snot._

_Finally, I took Zach's hand and we walked back to my house together…_

"I never knew you were so vain," Liam said. "You have been staring off at the mirror for twenty minutes. There is only so much to look at."

"Hold the mirror still!" I hissed, mentally cursing myself for thinking of _him_ again. Now that I was back in my hometown, the reminders were everywhere. I leaned into the mirror and lifted my eyelid in order to apply the black eyeliner.

Liam sighed. "Don't you think this is a little extreme?"

"You don't know my family," I said darkly.

Liam laughed mockingly. "There is no possible way your family is more screwed up than mine."

I smiled sweetly. "Care to share more?"

"No."

"Good, then shut up, agree with my complaints, and grab my black wig on top of the wardrobe." Liam reached behind him to my shrinkable wardrobe with one hand while balancing the large mirror in the other. I examined my reflection in the mirror, wondering if I looked different enough to fool my mother. My eyes were tinted blue with colored contacts, and I had applied a ridiculous looking red lipstick to my lips. The field of grass and the Pokemon Center in the backdrop of my image almost made me giggle; I was not used to changing my appearance and setting up my wardrobe _outside_.

Liam handed me the wig, and in one swift motion I gathered all of my hair beneath the wig. "How do I look?" I asked.

"Like a Jynx," Liam replied sourly. He was frowning at my hair. Ha, I bet he was remembering the _last_ _time_ I had worn this… Ah, fun times.

Just to see him squirm, I lowered my voice and whispered, "Do I kiss like one, too?"

"I didn't fall asleep so no, you do not." Hmm, not his best comeback. Liam looked away and started packing up my wardrobe. Though I'm sure he'd never admit it, I swear I saw his cheeks tint ever so slightly pink. Score!

After everything was shrunk back to pocket size, we approached the Pokemon Center. I took a moment to put on my best poker face before striding through the doors, looking straight at the counter. The business look always managed to hide my nerves.

I approached the… nurse, careful not to make eye contact. "Hello, I'd like to have this Pokemon healed." I put the Bellsprout's Pokeball on the counter.

No answer.

I peeked upwards. Big mistake. "ERIN, HONEY, YOU'RE HOME!"

So much for this disguise…

My mother enveloped me in a hug, which was painful because she was hugging across a counter. "Erin, I missed you so much! How are you? Why didn't you tell me you were coming home? Are you acting again? Is that why you are wearing that wig? Do you have a performance here? You should take off the wig, dear, I like your red-blonde much better. And your brown eyes—take out those contacts. How long are you staying? You're done traveling, right? Did you tell your father or Melanie or Professor Blubber or…" I was surprised my mom actually stopped spewing words. Any guesses on where I picked up the ability to rant for hours?

"It's good to see you, too, Mom," I said, pulling away. "How'd you know it was me?" I asked as I pulled off the wig and popped out my contacts—they were itchy and unfortunately, now unnecessary.

"I bought you that zip-up, dear."

Liam broke into a short coughing fit, I'm sure to cover up a snicker. I made a mental note to smack him later.

When I turned to my mother, I found her staring at Liam, who had quickly recovered and was returning the icy stare.

"Honey, _who_ is this?"

"This is—" and then _he_ walked through the door behind the counter.

"Nurse Joy, is everything alright? I heard you yelling and—" The boy-who-must-not-be-thought-of stopped midsentence. He blinked. "Erin?"

I gave them my best plastic smile. "Mother, Zach," I practically choked out the name. "this is Liam." I took a step back and hung my arms around Liam's neck. "My boyfriend."

_**CRASH**_

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

—_went the world when lightning zapped the ocean and water exploded around me, soaking my skin and my bones and it was cold and the world shook and there had to be pain but I couldn't feel it because I didn't know me or if me or I existed or—_

{Anita!}

—_my name. Me. I. I'm me. But who does that make the lightning—_

There was a strange pale boy standing in front of me with his hands on his small hips and his huge grey eyes full of some emotion. Fear? Concern?

Perhaps lightning. It was hard to tell.

{Oh, there you are. What are you doing all shriveled up in the corner? I'm leaving now 'cause we're here so you've got to take over, got it?}

_—the explosion. Dirt impaling my skin, no more painful than the sparks. Cold like icy water droplets running through my veins as horrendous images of blood-matted fur and twisted bones and dead Eevees flooded my mind—_

The boy turned around and walked away.

—_don't go please never leave don't never please never never never—_

The world shook.

I was forced to open my eyes.

A freckled nose was much too close. "Anita! You're awake!" the mouth beneath the nose yelped.

"See, I told you she was fine," another voice said. The voice of the pale boy.

"You consider crashing through the Pokemon Center doors riding some poor man's concession cart covered in dirt and blood, wearing that horrifically torn outfit _fine_?" The freckled nose moved away. I blinked and after a moment, came to the conclusion that the nose belonged to Erin.

"Umm… well, she wasn't exactly… I mean… she wasn't the one in control when she rode in here on the cart. She was really weak and almost unconscious after the battle so I… err…"

"So you asked a man to borrow his cart and wheeled this unfortunate girl all the way to the Pokemon Center? That's so kind." I managed to lift my head slightly and saw a red haired woman speaking.

"Sure, let's go with that."

I blinked a few more times to clear my vision. The white nurse cap on the red-haired woman's head was tilted at an odd angle, almost falling off when the woman moved her head. The scene felt familiar.

"Listen up, pipsqueak," Erin said, grabbing the pale boy's collar. "What did we tell you about taking over—mmmph!"

A hand snaked around Erin's shoulder and covered her mouth. My eyes traced from the hand up a lanky arm to a shoulder, neck, settling on a head of disorderly black hair. "Now, _sweetie_, why don't you leave Mel alone. He was helping Anita. _Overtaking_ a cart was perfectly reasonable in his situation." Liam. Mel. Erin. Lightning. Furious lightning. Fiery lightning. Fiery! Apple!

My mind was suddenly overwhelmed. "Apple!" I tried to send out my mind, but had trouble focusing.

"Don't worry, dear. Everything is going to be all right," the red-haired woman said. Nurse Joy. I shook my head. Why didn't I remember that before? "Apple and your other Pokemon are being tended to as we speak. My assistant, Zachary, is taking care of it. Now we just have to focus on getting you cleaned up and waiting for the shock you are experiencing to pass."

I stood still as Nurse Joy started rubbing my left arm with a damp washcloth and some other liquid that stung. "This is the worst I've seen in a long time. Honestly, the nerve of that gym leader… I can't understand why the city council won't even consider impeachment…"

I watched Erin and Liam, now standing a ways away, in a heated whispering argument. Mel had moved to the couch and was picking his nose, examining the boogers, and with a bizarre fascination, turning his boogers invisible before flicking them behind the couch.

"How long have they been together?" The speaker wasn't Nurse Joy.

I turned my head and found myself looking at a teenager with curly brown hair covered by a worn baseball hat. He smiled. "I'm Zach, by the way."

"Anita."

"I know. So how long?"

Maybe it was my garbled mind. I did not understand his question. "What?"

"How long have Erin and Liam been together?"

What a strange question to ask. When did we meet? By the lake. When I was pooped on. And half naked. That still beats out being electrocuted and then waking up confused as hell. "Two weeks? We met Liam by Peepin Pond…"

"So they've been a couple less than two weeks?"

My brain went into overdrive. I started laughing so hard my knees shook.

"Oh, dear." Nurse Joy led me to a couch across from Mel.

"What's so funny?"

"Erin, Liam…" I choked. I couldn't get the rest of the words out.

"Oh, great. Now she's crying. Do I have to go in and fish her out of moping land _again_?" Mel asked loudly.

Zach scrunched his eyebrows in Mel's direction. "I think she's laughing."

"Why's Anita laughing?" Through my blurred vision, I saw Erin and Liam walk next to the couch Mel was sitting on. The scene seemed fuzzy—dream-like. It _had_ to be a dream. Erin and Liam a couple? I briefly wondered if I could do anything I wanted now that I realized I was dreaming. Maybe I could fly to Jupiter. Or spin around in circles without getting dizzy. Or punch Liam. If only I could stop laughing…

Zach shrugged. "I just asked a question."

"He asked how long you two were together." Mel said. Zach's face turned red and he looked at the tip of Nurse Joy's nurse hat.

"She's delusional, might not remember—"

"She's still in a state of shock, temporarily unable—"

Erin and Liam spoke at the same time, both stopping abruptly when each realized the other one was speaking.

I was having trouble breathing and my stomach hurt. Noises were getting stuck in my throat. "Kids," Nurse Joy said sternly. "Why don't you go wait outside while I handle Anita and get my stuff together. When Janice arrives for the night shift, all of you can come have dinner with Erin and our family. In fact, Erin, honey, why don't you take Zachary and these other two boys back to our house now. If you get the water boiling, I'll make pasta." The nurse turned to me. "Dear, how about you lie down here for a couple of minutes." She propped my legs on one end of the couch, and my body adjusted accordingly. My breath came in quick rasps. I closed my eyes.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

The room was dimly lit and unfamiliar, smelling like musty oranges. I rubbed my eyes, and pushed the Pikachu covers off of my body. There was an identical bed to the one I was sitting on directly across the room, on the other side of the half shaded window. A dull orange rug lay below the window, in front of a nightstand. It looked like a massive blanket woven of Cheetos.

I walked across the Cheeto rug towards the door, but stopped to examine the large wooden dresser next to the door. Atop the desk, I found various peculiar objects; there was a broken Pokeball, a stuffed Teddiursa doll missing its tail, a dusty trophy, a few pairs of folded underwear, a book titled Drama and Irony, bits of folded paper, and piles and piles of unorganized pictures.

I picked up a pile of pictures. A young Erin and a smiling boy with brown curly hair lick ice cream that melts too quickly out of their cones. Flip. Erin sits on top of the Pokemon Center counter, holding a Pokeball. Flip. Two adults I assume to be Erin's parents sit on a beach with Erin and a darker haired girl. Flip. Erin and the dark haired girl laughing.

I put the pictures down, opened the door, and walked out the door into a narrow hallway.

"Anita, you're up! I was just coming to get you!" I nearly walked into Erin as I turned the hallway corner. "Dinner's nearly ready. Welcome to my house, by the way. You were lying in my room."

"Err…" I scratched my head. "What happened? I remember the battle… and losing… and then I had this bizarre dream where I rode on this insane cart and then you and Liam were a couple… Where are my Pokemon? Are they okay?"

Erin nodded. "Your Pokemon are fine—we left them all at the Pokemon Center for the night."

"Okay, I'll go now."

Erin frowned. "Didn't you just hear me? They are recovering in the Pokemon Center for the night. There is nothing you can do."

"I'm still going."

"At least eat dinner here, first. My mom and I cooked up some pasta and home-made red-sauce from home-grown tomatoes."

"Alright." I moved forward slightly to indicate I was ready to go down the stairs to the kitchen, but Erin blocked my path.

"Umm… so about your dream…"

The floor creaked as I shifted my weight.

Erin continued, "It wasn't exactly a dream. Mel, apparently, took over your body to get you to the Pokemon Center and ended up hijacking a concession cart… and… umm… I kinda told everyone that Liam is my boyfriend."

I reached out my mind to hers because I obviously did not understand what was running through her head at the moment. An image of the boy with curly brown hair from the photograph and from my not-so-unreal-dream flashed in my mind. Zach.

{Ah… so this is because of Zach?}

"Anita, you know I HATE it when you do that! Get out!"

I rolled my eyes. And didn't oblige. A small thread of energy continued to bob near Erin's head, alerting me of any of her strong emotions or ideas or memories.

"How did you get Liam to go along with it?" I asked.

"I didn't give him a choice."

How very Erin-like. "So… when should I buy your wedding gift?"

Erin pushed me jokingly. "I don't actually like him that way. He is NOT my type. But just go with it while we're here, kay?" Erin gave me a big eyed, wide smile.

I grinned. "It'll be hilarious." I ducked under her arm and started down the carpeted stairs. Just before I reached the bottom, I thought to her, {So who is your type?}

I spun around the stair railing into the kitchen, satisfied with the uncomfortable vibes I was getting from Erin, along with brief images of Jake telling a joke, Zach and Erin kissing, and discussing the molecular make-up of antidotes with Liam.

"Well, you're looking better," Nurse Joy said as I entered the room.

"Um, Nurse Joy, I don't think I'm sick enough to have you follow me all the way to Erin's house."

Nurse Joy laughed. "I'm Amelia Kendle, Erin's mother. I'm only Nurse Joy when I'm at work."

Heat prickled at my neck. "Oh, sorry. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Kendle." Now that I looked closer, I could see the resemblance in Nurse Joy's facial structure and light freckles.

"Come sit down, dear." Erin's mother led me through the small, homey kitchen to a dining room with a wooden floor and an antique wooden table. The patterned green tablecloth on top of the table clashed with the maroon seat cushions on the wooden chairs around the table. Liam, Zach, Mel, the girl with beautiful long brown hair I had seen in Erin's picture, and a slightly balding man I also recognized from Erin's picture were already sitting around the table. "This is my husband, Anthony and my daughter, Melanie. Where's Erin?"

"She's—"

"Here, mom!" Erin entered the room and plopped down in a seat between Melanie and Liam. I sat down across from her, next to Zach and Mel.

Erin's mother proceeded to chatter about how happy she was Erin had returned as the pasta, red-sauce, and broccoli dishes were passed around the table. Mel helped himself to several scoops of pasta, but grimaced at the broccoli. When Mrs. Kendle insisted he eat the green vegetable, Mel turned the vegetable intangible as soon as Erin's mother looked the other way so it fell through the table to the floor.

Erin and Liam continued to play the happy couple, with Erin giggling between quick glances at Liam. Liam smiled slightly, which was impressive, considering it was Liam. Melanie shot annoyed looks at the two, and Zach glared angrily at Liam. I was getting murderous vibes from that boy.

"Oh, Erin, this is so wonderful," Mrs. Kendle said. "I have my baby back home."

"Well, mom, it's only for a couple of days, until Anita beats the gym leader," Erin answered.

For some reason, this caused a stronger emotional wave from Zach. I was split between wanting to listen to this conversation and wanting to hop into Zach's mind. Reading Zach would probably take all of my concentration because I didn't know him well. Thus, I settled for listening to this conversation.

"But Professor Blubber told me once you returned you would be working for him in the lab…"

"No," Erin said smoothly. "I think he wants me to keep travelling. He's doing a lot of research on the Eevee evolutions and observing Anita's Eevees could prove to be exceptionally helpful."

"Now I'm not going to have any children at home! Did you hear, Erin? Melanie has found herself a job with Timothy Conundrum—she's going to be playing a supporting role in his next film, _Untalented_. And I talked with Timothy personally…"

Clearly, I had made the wrong decision in listening to this conversation. I was going to slip into Zach's mind, but instinctively was attracted to Erin's mind. I saw flashes of Erin's mother jabbering about Melanie, one of Melanie's performances when she was Cinderella, Erin's performance in _Pinocchio_…

Finally, her mind settled on a memory of her recantation of the funny scene that followed her performance in _Pinocchio._

"_So after the play, the girl came up to me and was like 'You were so amazing!' Then she blushed and asked if I'd like to go with her to the movies some time so I took off my wig. It took her about five seconds to realize I was a girl, blush even more, and stammer something about it being 'too good to be true…'" I said, setting my paper bag lunch out on the cafeteria table._

_Zach laughed. "It must be fun pretending to be different people. How do you do it if you get a role you've never experienced before?"_

"_Research."_

_Zach snorted. "Like you'd ever do research."_

"_I so do research! I people watch. If I have the role of a basketball player, I'll go to the basketball's practice and watch a game or two."_

"_That doesn't count as research!"_

_I shrugged._

"_Have you ever done it just to mess with people?"_

"_Duh! Once I earned twenty bucks in tips pretending to be a waitress at Olivine Garden until the manager figured out I didn't actually work there."_

"_Have you done it to me?"_

_I winked. "Of course."_

"_Hey, Zach. Did you pick up your transcript yet?" Evan sat down next to me, smoothing out a piece of paper he had just placed on the cafeteria table. "I'm ranked number three again."_

"_Number four," Zach mumbled._

"_Ha. You've only got one more semester to beat me."_

_I rolled my eyes. "I don't get why you guys make such a big deal out of the rankings. I mean, as long as you pass, and your parents allow you to, you can leave on a journey as soon as you turn thirteen."_

"_Just 'cause you're not even in the top twenty doesn't mean you have to down on all of us who actually have brains and care about school," Zach replied._

_I stuck out my tongue at him._

"_I talked to Amy—that goody-two-shoes is number two," Evan said. "Who do you think number one is?"_

"_Maybe Alec?" Zach suggested. "Wasn't he ahead of us at some point?"_

"_Yeah, but then he practically failed battle strategy last year."_

_I stood up, gathering my unopened lunch bag in my hands. "I just remembered—I forgot to do the math homework. See you guys later."_

_Zach nodded to me and I swiftly walked out of the cafeteria. Instead of turning to the left, towards my locker, I turned to the right, towards the administration office._

"_Hi, Erin. Are you here to pick up your transcript?" the secretary asked as I entered. I nodded, and she shuffled through a pile of envelopes. "Ah, here you go." She handed me an envelope._

"_Thanks."_

_I exited the office and walked back towards my locker. When I was a good twenty feet away from the administration office, I tore the envelope, transcript and all, into several small pieces of white paper. I found the nearest garbage can and watched as the shredded paper fluttered down onto moldy pieces of pizza and empty plastic wrappers._

_For good measure, when I saw the tiny piece that read, "Class Rank:" I spat a large wad of saliva at it, entirely covering the words that followed—_

"_Number One."_

"—ranked trainer in Acceber. Anita, think you could beat her?" Zach asked.

"Huh?"

"Earth to Anita," Mel said. "Zach has asked you a question."

"Do you think you could beat Vivian Duntweedam, the number one ranked trainer in Acceber?" Zach repeated.

"Um, sure," I said.

"You don't sound too convinced."

"Well I am. Go team. Win. Whooo." The conversation continued without me. Despite Erin's attempt to seem cool and unaffected by Zach, her eyes would occasionally start to flicker towards him. She would consciously stop her eyes from moving, and force them to look at Liam instead. I curiously delved back into Erin's mind…

_I loved the way he held me on these cool September nights, the way we curled up together in our pajamas in one sleeping bag by the dying fire. I especially loved these sweet, long kisses…_

_I pulled away. "What do you want?" I asked Zach._

_Zach's eyebrow's furrowed. "How do you know I want something?"_

"_Dude, we never kiss for over ten seconds."_

"_Well, I was thinking… I know you've got to go to Globert City for your research thingy, but Zahavah City's not too far out of the way, and I'd really like to challenge the gym leader…"_

"_Zach, this is pretty important. I'm supposed to make the delivery by next Wednesday."_

"_How important could it be if he's having an assistant do it?"_

"_Professor Blubber is busy. He cannot be everywhere at once, and this delivery could help with a major breakthrough…"_

_Zach snorted._

"_Oh, like being a trainer is much more worthwhile."_

"_It's worthwhile to me. You, on the other hand, are doing something you don't fully believe in."_

"_That's not true…"_

"_Yeah, you're right. Sorry I brought it up."_

"_It'd be okay if we stopped in Zahavah for a few nights. I'll call Professor Blubber and tell him I can't make it by Wednesday…"_

_Zach briefly touched his lips to mine. "Thanks."_

_I turned over, facing away from Zach and the remaining weak fire embers. "Good—"_

"—night." Erin stood up. "I'm tired and I'm going to bed."

"It's only eight o'clock," Melanie said.

Erin shrugged.

"Anita's going to be sharing your room," Mrs. Kendle said.

"You boys will be staying in the guest room," Mr. Kendle added. "As always, Zach, you are welcome to stay."

"I'm tired, too." I said, picking up my plate and silverware. Erin and I brought our dishes to the sink and then headed upstairs. Once we were in Erin's room, Erin quietly shut the door behind her.

"Anita, there's something I need to tell… show you. Could you… do the mind thing?"

I nodded.

After a moment, Erin asked, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

{For you to start showing.}

{I didn't even notice you were here!}

{Err, just arrived.} No need for Erin to know that I could roam her mind undetected.

Erin began, {We were traveling from Zahavah City, where Zach had just earned a badge…}

"_No, Zach, I don't want to cut my two week observation of the Pokemon within Apoosh Forest short so you can go lose to the unbeatable gym leader," I said._

"_Have some faith—I've beaten three other gyms."_

"_He doesn't lose. His father never lost either. How would you be any different? But this conversation is not about whether or not you can beat a gym leader; it's about facing this gym leader in the first place. We did it your way last time. Now its your turn to compromise."_

"_This is different. If I don't get another two badges in the next two months, I can't compete in Acceber's Pokemon League."_

"_Oh, yeah, so you should definitely focus defeating the undefeated gym leader. Real time saver right there."_

"_Well, we'll be by Drape Town anyway…"_

"_Have you ever considered, Zach, that my observation has a time limit as well? I have to observe in that forest between a half-moon to a full moon."_

"_Yeah, but it's just observation. You can make something up—"_

"_You asshole! Did you ever consider that this might be important? Actually, I can answer for you—no! You've never thought about how your travel plans might affect my research. Not once. 'Sure, it's okay if Erin doesn't deliver the package on time.' 'Oh, the library is closed for the week? Too bad. If there was a gym in this town, then we could have stayed longer.'"_

"_I didn't think it was so important to you…"_

_I laughed. "You didn't think it was important to me? Wake up and smell the roses, Zach. The roses with thick, spiky, sharp stems. I love what I do. I've loved researching from the start. But you couldn't possibly contemplate me loving something other than you."_

"_But… but you aren't _good_ at it. You never really like science class. I mean—"_

"_How the hell would you know what I'm good at? You've never bothered to find out—"_

"_I know you're good at acting—"_

"_Yes, I'm so good at acting, I managed to make a show out of my entire life, with Erin and lover boy in the spotlight. So happy together. So perfect for each other. Fuck, I don't know what was wrong with me. Zach, do you know my favorite color is cerulean? Do you know I ride Griffy for hours and hours after every time we argue? Do you even know that I was the valedictorian of our class?"_

_Zach took a deep breath. "Erin, I'm sorry. Maybe… maybe I can go to Drape Town alone, while you do your thing in Apoosh Forest."_

_I smiled grimly. "Yes, I think its best we split up." I abruptly turned on my heel and began walking away from Zach._

"_Wait! I didn't mean forever!"_

_I stopped and slowly turned to face Zach. "Well, I did."_

"_Please, Erin. We like each other, remember? We kiss and share ice cream and enjoy each other's company. Don't you think it will be worth your while—"_

"_I help make important discoveries that eventually will benefit both humans and Pokemon. I help people, and that is worthwhile. What do you do? You train Pokemon to fight. Who do you help? Maybe your self-esteem? You have no right to tell me what is worth my while." I released Griffy from his Pokeball and climbed onto his back. "I won't be seeing you," I said coldly before riding away._

_It was a long time before I stopped and cried myself to sleep._

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Erin, I'm so sorry. Today, the splitting up thing… it was stupid, I was mad at Liam… I'm sorry."

Erin shook her head. "I'm not mad."

I hesitated. "If that's the way you feel, then why are you traveling with us? Why are you traveling with me?"

"At first, I just wanted some company and protection on my journey back here. I've always traveled with other people. It's not really safe otherwise… but, Anita, it's weird because now I want to keep traveling with you and Liam. I've never wanted that before. I used to look forward to working here with Professor Blubber. Now, I just want to move on to the next city with you two. You guys… you respect me for who I am, and listen to me, and even though I've only known you two for a couple of weeks, you're the best friends I've ever had."

I turned around and walked across the Cheeto rug to the window. I slid my hands under a notch, lifted to open the window, and clumsily climbed outside onto the roof.

"What are you doing?" Erin asked.

"I'm sneaking out to the Pokemon Center to be with my Pokemon."

Erin stood awkwardly. "Oh…"

"Well, are you coming?"

A grin spread across Erin's face. "Yeah."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes in a weak attempt to fall asleep quickly.

"Liam?"

I cracked an eye open. Zach was sitting up in a sleeping bag on the floor, looking at me with a determined gaze.

"Hmn…" I answered indecisively.

Zach nervously wrung his hands. "How's Erin?"

"How should I know? She's not in the room now. She seemed just peachy earlier, though."

"I meant… look, I only stayed over to tell you this: If you hurt her, I'll beat your ass into the ground and pummel your head until you die."

"Right." _Good luck with that._ I closed my eyes again.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Zach said, "Well, this is awkward."

"No," Mel said, laughing on the guest bed. "It would be awkward if we were all sharing a bed."

Really great image to fall asleep to.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I handed Professor Blubber the Bellsprout's Pokeball.

"Thank you, Erin," Professor Blubber said, placing the Pokeball an empty lab table. "How are your folks? How was catching up with them last night?"

"Great, Professor." I took a long breath through my nose. "Professor… I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"I was wondering if it'd be okay if I continued traveling with Liam and Anita instead of staying here." I gestured to a window, where Anita could be seen ordering one of her Eevees to use quick attack. "You met Anita for a couple of minutes, and saw how good she was with her Eevees. I think I could really learn a lot by observing her Pokemon and hopefully watching them evolve."

Professor Blubber stared out the window for a moment. "Erin, I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that. I don't have anyone here to help me anymore, and I really need the help. I also don't have the money to continue sponsoring your journey at the moment. Plus, I promised your mother…"

I nodded. "Alright then."

"So you'll stay?"

I shook my head. "No, I quit."

"Erin—"

"Please, Professor, I'm going to do this. It's what I want. But could you not tell my mom until after I leave?"

Professor Blubber hesitated and then nodded. I hugged his belly (my arms could not reach all the way around) and then exited the laboratory through the front door. I walked around the outside of the lab to the back, where I leaned against the brick wall and watched Anita train her Pokemon.

"No, Splash," I heard Anita say. "I will not race you. I'm not as fast as the electric Pokemon you'll be facing—"

"Hey."

I looked over my shoulder and found Zach approaching. My heartbeat quickened, but I kept my face blank and nodded coolly.

"So, you're traveling with a trainer again," he said.

I nodded again and watched as Apple illustrated to the other Eevees the proper running motions of a quick attack.

"I'm training under your mother to become a Pokemon nurse."

"Good for you." The Eevees raced across the grass field, quickly fading from my sight. About ten seconds later, they returned, with Splash in the lead.

"I like it. I've finally found something I think is worthwhile."

Splash tackled Anita to the ground. Anita laughed as the other Eevees piled on top of her and she playfully pushed them away. I smiled.

"So did I."


	31. No Goodbyes

Chapter 28: No Goodbyes

"Rita, I'm leaving you in charge." My stomach physically hurt from uttering those words.

"Don't get me wrong, Jamie—"

"That's Sir Arkle to you," I corrected.

"You're not a knight," Rita snickered. "Anyway, Jamie, though your departure makes my heart overflow with syrupy happiness, _what_ exactly are you going to tell the Master?"

"The same thing I told you," I said curtly. "There was a family emergency—"

"I didn't even know you had family. I was fairly certain pigs gave birth—"

"And you fell out of a pigeon's uterus. Go fuck yourself." I slammed my suitcase shut. "I'll be back by the end of the week. Do anything to damage my career—"

"As a suck-up—"

"And I will personally shave the skin off your body and feed it to your precious pigeons." I walked out of the office, leaving the witch with everything I had worked so hard to obtain. I almost regretted my efforts to keep competent Team Glop'emm members out of the Master's most trustworthy circle. Almost. Any person with power and competence had the potential to be named the next Team Glop'emm Master, and would thus be detrimental to my career.

I yearned for a trustworthy trainer to do this grunt work for me. Trustworthiness, however, was a hard trait to come across in Team Glop'emm. I've had much experience in the matter.

When I finally arrived outside, I pulled out a Pokeball. In a flash of red my Togekiss appeared.

"Skampi, to Globert City," I ordered as I climbed over Skampi's unusually large wings. Drape town quickly faded below us, until only the stubborn City Hall was visible. The despised City Hall…

As the City Hall failed to provide me with information about the Mendol family, I was forced to find another means of gaining this knowledge. The only people who possibly knew Master Mendol Senior better than me were the little Mendol twit himself, the gym leaders, and Harvey Darcleye.

Harvey Darcleye was the least dangerous of the bunch and likely knew the most. After all, he _had_ been the gym leader of Drape town before the Mendols arrived…

_The Sneasel slashed at the Butterfree with a claw, but the butterfly Pokemon swooped away just in the nick of time. The Butterfree sent a few whirlwinds at the Sneasel, but the Sneasel took the opportunity to use an ice attack. The ice shards got caught in the whirlwind and hit the Butterfree—_

"_Yo, Jamie!"_

_The sudden voice nearly made me fall out of the tree I was sitting in. I looked down at the moron who had startled me._

"_Jamie, you've gotta come see—Ryan and Drake are decking each other over some blonde chick. What're you doing up there?"_

"_I'm on an assignment."_

"_Spying on the gym leader through a window? Dude, the battles are open to the public."_

"_I'm not supposed to be seen." I did not tell the idiot that I was actually waiting for after the gym battle, when the gym leader was supposed to meet with a new potential gym leader after the match under this very tree. Gym leaders were a nasty business for Team Glop'emm, always foiling plans and sending about half the crew to jail. Whenever a new one came around, the bosses always wanted to know what the team would be dealing with next._

"_Yeah, well, I saw you so you might want to go higher."_

_The moron had a point. I climbed into higher branches._

"_Jamie, I was kidding. Ger your ass down here to see the fight!"_

"_I'm on duty."_

"_Fuck duty! You love this stuff! Man, ever since you joined that gang you haven't been the same. You too cool to hang with us now? Is that it?"_

"_You were never cool to begin with," I said, losing my patience. The Butterfree had fainted and the gym leader was shaking a teenager's hand._

_The moron raised his hands in defeat. "Whatever, Jamie. Just don't come crying back to us when that gang kicks your ass out on the curb." The guy turned and walked away, disappearing among Drape Town's busy citizens walking up and down Main Street._

_Forty minutes later, the sun was starting to set and the damn tree was making my legs uncomfortable. Just as I was adjusting my position, the gym leader walked out of the gym, turned a corner, and approached the tree. I noticed the gym leader walked with a slight limp, supported on one side by an Umbreon whose eyes glowed eerily. A man with dark hair approached the tree from the opposite direction. I froze._

_When the two men and the Umbreon arrived under the tree, the gym leader held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Mendol."_

_The man with dark hair took the gym leader's hand. "Mr. Darcleye, the pleasure is mine."_

"_To what do I owe this delightful encounter?" the gym leader asked._

"_I heard you were retiring."_

"_I'm sorry, you were misinformed."_

"_I heard you were retiring once you found a replacement," Mendol said._

"_Where?"_

_Mendol shrugged, and the gym leader eyed the man warily. "Psychic," Darcleye ordered. The Umbreon's eyes glowed purple and Mr. Mendol was shoved against the gym's brick wall. "You are not gifted."_

_Mendol pulled out a Pokeball. "I am gifted in other ways." A Houndoom appeared as Mendol pressed the release button. "Crunch."_

_The Hondoom rushed at the Umbreon. The Umbreon disappeared and reappeared behind the Houndoom in a faint attack. Just as the Umbreon hit, the Houndoom twisted around and spewed a blast of fire in the Umbreon's face._

"_Toxic!" Darcleye yelled._

"_Sludge Bomb," Mendol retaliated._

_Both Pokemon, still physically intertwined, were covered with a purple, oozing liquid. The Houndoom bit down hard on the Umbreon's back, only to be roughly pushed away._

"_Wait," Darcleye called as the Pokemon faced each other, about to attack once more._

_Mendol nodded to his Houndoom to do the same._

_The two Pokemon stared at each other, watching the poison seep through the veins of their opponents. After several minutes, both Pokemon were struggling to stand._

_Finally, the Umbreon fell._

_Darcleye pulled out a Pokeball and released his Sneasel. Mendol took a step back to prepare for the attack. "Go fetch," Darcleye ordered the Sneasel. Surprisingly, the Sneasel fled from the battle toward the street. I saw him enter the gym from my window view. "You have a lot to learn," Darcleye told Mendol as he picked up his Umbreon._

_Mendol did not say anything. He returned his Houndoom to a Pokeball._

_The Sneasel returned with a Pokemon egg between its claws. Darcleye took the egg and held it out to Mendol. _

_Mendol took the egg. "What is this?" he asked._

"_An Eevee egg. Your training starts tomorrow at eight-o-clock. Goodnight." Darcleye returned the Sneasel and limped away from the tree with the Umbreon in his arms, walking into the lamp-lit street._

_Mendol smirked as Darcleye vanished down the street. _

_He then looked up into the tree, directly at me. His smirk widened._

"_Call me," he mouthed, holding his hand like a phone up to his ear. Then he departed into the darkness._

_I smiled as I climbed down from the tree, knowing I had some interesting news to tell my boss. _

_And probably a promotion._

The air was smoggy and smelled of gasoline. I forced my eyes open as Skampi descended into Globert City despite the ashy particles that made my eyes sting. The air was more breathable on the ground. I returned Skampi to his Pokeball and walked two blocks, carefully avoiding the Grimers oozing along the sidewalk. I kicked a Koffing out of the way when it rolled in front of my feet.

I found the small, grimy house I was looking for. It was slightly bigger than the tree house I had played in as a child and eventually set fire to. This house looked already burnt-out—it was less homey than a pile of rubble, and was in fact located next to a dump.

I wrapped on the door.

"Go away!" a gruff voice shouted through the door. "I already told you, I have no idea where the boy is!"

"Sir, I'm not a reporter," I called.

"Eh? So you're just another curious citizen." A lock clicked and the door opened. Harvey Darcleye, grey hair, large nose, walking cane and all stood in the doorway. "I still have got nothing to say to you. I'll tell you what I told the gym leaders' people, the reporters, and all the other folk who decided bothering me was worth coming through the g-d-forsaken city for—I don't know shit. I have not spoken with either Mendol since the day they took over my gym." The man tried to slam the door, but I put my hand out and stopped the door from shutting.

"I'm a graduate student at Zahavah University, sir. And I'm researching you, not—"

"Bullshit. What, do you think I'm an idiot? First of all, if you were just doing research you would have tried calling me. Granted, I unhooked my phone, but I still get messages, and I've got nothing from you. Second of all, you're not carrying anything but Pokeballs—not even a pad of paper. Thirdly, you are not wearing the protective mask all university students are required to wear before entering Globert City."

"Maybe I don't like the masks."

"And maybe you're not a graduate student. Let's see… you can't be from our beloved gym leaders because I've already given them all I know, you aren't a reporter or a student, you're certainly not a curious citizen because Globert City doesn't have curious citizens, which leaves… Team Glop'emm." Harvey Darcleye raised a white eyebrow at me.

I snickered.

The old man opened the door wider. "Well, do come in." Harvey led me into a surprisingly clean room comprised of a small kitchen, a bed, and a couch. He nodded to an Umbreon lying on the couch. "Try any funny business and she'll tear you to shreds." Harvey seated himself next to the Umbreon and pointed out a stool for me to sit on. "So Team Glop'emm's missing their leader, too?"

"Not quite. Tell me what you know about the Mendols."

"Getting right to the point, are we? Well, frankly, the more people looking for the idiot boy, the better. A disgrace to my former gym… The Mendols, well, they came to Drape Town back, oh, seven years ago. The father was a real battle protégé—never knew the son much, but heard he was as well. Not much more to be known. Black hair, greenish eyes, good with dark Pokemon—"

"Gifted?"

"The son was, father wasn't. But you already knew that, otherwise you wouldn't have known to ask about the gift. What, are you testing to see how much _I_ know?" As an afterthought, Harvey snapped, "Or how much I'm willing to tell?"

"How do you know the boy is the leader of Team Glop'emm?"

"Oh, his father told me outright as soon as he was gym leader. Said he was going to use the team for good. I wasn't working for the government any more so I didn't feel the need to run to the other leaders. I figured he wouldn't last long—leaders of Glop'emm never do—so when he died I figured the position was probably passed on. I figured right, apparently."

"Use the team for good?"

"What'd you think he joined the team for? Money? Power? He already had all of that as a gym leader, youngster. No, he said he'd use the team's resources for something that would benefit all of humanity—and, before you ask, he never did give me the details and I never asked. Moved to a cottage by the ocean until the man went and died and my house was bombarded with reporters—then I moved here to avoid all of that. I think it's time to pack up again…"

"Did they have any relatives?"

"Not that I know of."

"Where did they come from, before Drape Town?"

Harvey scratched his head. "Vintage Villiage, if I recall correctly. Didn't talk about the past much…"

I got up. The man had given me all the answers I needed.

"Hey, where are you going? You're not going to ask me where I think he might be? What Pokemon he'll be using? If he visited?"

"Did he?"

"No."

I opened the front door. "You're not trying to find him, are you?" Harvey called after me. The door slammed shut, but I still heard his voice. "You're trying to make sure he'll stay gone!"

I touched Hypno's Pokeball. With the information Harvey knew, I should kill him. But he was gifted. He might be hard to kill and there was a chance the gym leaders would check on him. I glanced through a small window and saw Harvey watching me. "Good luck," he mouthed.

I smiled coldly and walked away from the door.

Needless murder just wasn't my thing.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

{Anita, I don't think you're ready for this,} Apple said, playfully rolling in the pile of Pikachu covers on top of my bed. {You still can't make a barrier move with your mind—you keep treating it like just one barrier when you really have to imagine it as several barriers, one disappearing as another one is made in almost the same spot as the first—}

I pulled on my shoes. {I'll be okay.}

{And you utilize the dispersed energy from each disappearing barrier—}

{Apple! I know what to expect this time, and we spent the last two days improving speed. I swear, a Suicune couldn't move as fast as Splash's quick attack—}

{But you still can't move barriers—}

{I don't need to. I just have to hold back Sparky, and I've gotten a bit better at splitting my focus—}

{But—}

{Enough! Ready or not, I'm challenging that gym again today.} I clipped my Pokeballs onto my belt, touched Erin's Cheeto rug for good luck, and left Erin's bedroom with Apple trailing behind me.

I found Erin lying across her living room couch reading a book. I softly stepped across the carpet until I was close enough to see the words over her shoulder. "Whatcha reading?" I asked after glancing over the first phrase on the page. "There once was a boy who will went…"

Erin sat up quickly, startled. "It's a book of poems. They were my favorite when I was younger." She hastily closed the book and crammed it into her backpack.

"You ready to go?" I asked. "Where's Mel?"

{Hmm, no wonder it's been quiet—I haven't seen him all morning,} Apple noted.

"My mom walked him and Liam to Professor Blubber's lab on her way to work before you got up."

"Why are they going to the lab?"

"_Apparently_, Professor Blubber asked Liam to help him out with something," Erin said harshly. "Guess I wasn't _qualified_."

"Erin, you know he's just probably trying to avoid any awkwardness between you guys—'cause you're leaving him. I mean, you're family friends and all." Trying to lift Erin's mood, I added, "So why'd Mel go?"

Erin snorted. "I bet he abandoned the lab and went to the gym again. Liam wouldn't care, even if Sparky's insane. For some reason Mel seems to have grown attached to Mister-Violent-and-Wacked-Out-Electric-Crazy-Man."

"Two peas in a pod…" I muttered.

"No, they're more like two grenades in a box that someone is shaking and has the potential to explode at any second."

"Huh. Shall we go blow up?"

Erin got up from the couch. "Let's."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The moment Mrs. Kendle was out of sight, Mel gave me a salute and disappeared. "Off to see Sparky, see ya later!"

That was fine by me.

I quietly opened the front door of Professor Blubber's laboratory. The hall was dark, aside from a dim light spilling out an open door of an experiment room at the end of the hall. Silently, I approached Professor Blubber's office door and tested the handle. It was unlocked.

I slipped inside.

I did not bother turning on the lights—I could see every object perfectly in the dark. There were several papers, research documents, and letters piled messily on his desk. I skimmed the documents and found that most of them pertained to the Eevee experiment. The letters I examined more carefully, but I failed to find the particular correspondence I was seeking.

I tried to open the desk drawers, but discovered they were all locked. Where would Professor Blubber keep an extra key? I eyed the shelves that held a crank Pokeball, a tool kit, and several roles of tape, among other peculiar objects. A lot of the objects were dusty… Except…

I peered closer at the tape. There was a roll that wasn't quite as dusty. I pulled the tape roll off the shelf when I noticed a slight bulge in its side. I peeled back a strip of tape, and found the spare key under the tape.

As expected, the key unlocked the drawers. The first two drawers contained data from every experiment ever performed in the laboratory. The third drawer held files on all of Professor Blubber's correspondents. Perfect.

I found Rita Teal's file, glanced over her bio, and perused the letter she had recently sent Professor Blubber. There was nothing in the letter Professor Blubber had not told me. I flipped to the next letter—

There was a quiet clicking, rubber soles against a tiled floor. Someone was approaching. I rapidly put the file back together and returned it to the drawer, careful not to shove it more than necessary so it did not appear to be tampered with. I closed the drawer and put the key back under the tape—

The doorknob started to move. I tensed my biceps, quads, and calves, calculating my next movement. A millisecond later, I was in the air above the desk. I snatched a random book from the shelf and landed in the visitor's chair on the other side of the desk just as the door opened.

The lights flickered on.

I fluttered my eyes groggily and winced at the light, pretending to have just woken up.

"Liam?"

"Huh, oh hey, Professor Blubber."

"What are you doing in my office, in the dark?" the professor asked sharply.

I feigned embarrassment and ran a hand through my hair. "Well, I came by a little while ago to ask you—but I saw you were busy with something that looked important. The office door was unlocked so I grabbed a book—" I waved the random book opened to the first page I had grabbed off of the shelf. "—and was planning on waiting until you were finished. Only, it's early and I was tired so I ended up turning the lights off for a quick snooze."

Professor Blubber narrowed his eyes. "What's the name of the book?"

"_Mysteries of Nature_," I replied without looking at the book. "It's a book of poems."

"You did not behave this foolishly when I met you two days ago," Professor Blubber said bluntly, walking into the room and sitting down across from me at his desk.

There was nothing to do but look at the professor innocently. Professor Blubber sighed and scrutinized his desk for a moment. I noticed his eyes flicker to the key in the tape, and then back to me.

We stared at each other for a moment, but when the professor did not say anything, I turned my attention to the poetry book. The preface was a short poem, entitled _The Boy Who Will Went._

_There once was a boy who will went,_

_To greatest despair he was sent,_

_But never could it be_

_If not for me,_

_The boy's time would be ill spent._

_So dear reader you see,_

_If you happen to be he,_

_When all rules are bent_

_Leap through that vent_

_And remember me, I plea!_

"Are you going to tell me why you're in my office?"

"Why do you have a poetry book in your office, Professor?"

"It's written by a colleague of mine, Professor Seth Hastings."

I flipped through the book. "A researcher wrote this? These poems are extremely vague. Shouldn't they be about nature?"

"Yes, well, Professor Hastings has, in recent years, become a rather vague person. He was never at the top of his field—always seemed to have his head in the clouds. But then he just snapped. Now, he's… a raving lunatic. The words that come out of his mouth just don't make sense. He published this book and sent a few copies to me." Professor Blubber checked his bookshelf. "Hmm, I could have sworn I still had another copy." He glared at me.

"Don't imply that I took the book. There's nowhere for me to have put it. What did you say Professor Hasting's field was?"

"I didn't. Ancient Pokemon."

"Is there any way to contact Professor Hastings?"

"I'm not the one to ask—haven't heard from him in years. I'm pretty sure he lives in Winsk City now, so he might be hard to reach."

"Nobody lives there."

"Nai, the gym leader, does."

"Yes, but she's a gym leader with ice Pokemon. That place is completely cut off from the world."

Professor Blubber looked irritated again. "Are you ever going to tell me _what you are doing in my office?_"

I closed the poetry book. "Oh, right. Well, Mel and Erin went to watch Anita get her ass kicked by Sparky. I don't particularly enjoy watching Anita's Pokemon battles and I thought that I might be able to help out here."

Professor Blubber blinked. "Well… we just received a shipment of new supplies. You can file and organize them."

"I'd love to, Professor."

We rose from our seats. On the way out of the office, I swear I heard Professor Blubber mumble, "Lying, manipulative twit."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_Miss Anita Parkwood,_

_Please walk around the gym._

_Love,_

_The All Awesome Sparky and Mini Awesome Mel_

Erin, Apple, and I stared on the note on the gym door. "I can't believe he signed it _love_," Erin muttered.

"We should be really careful," I said. "Sparky probably set up a ridiculous man-eating-robot or something." As we cautiously walked around the gym, I sent my mind out to avoid surprises.

{AHHH!} Apple suddenly yelled. I thrust a barrier around her.

{What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?} I looked for the source of Apple's pain, but didn't see anything. Erin watched Apple and me in confusion.

{It's terrible!} Apple lifted up a paw. {I stepped in goose poop. Hmm, or maybe it's Swellow poop. I've always had trouble telling the difference…}

{Apple! I thought you were hurt or under attack or something! Don't scare me like that!}

Apple shrugged and dragged her paw across the grass as she walked in an attempt to get rid of the gunk that covered her paw. Irked, I picked up my pace. Apple had to give up on her paw and half-run, half-trot to keep up.

We reached the backyard without further incident. In fact, we found Mel and Sparky peacefully sitting across from each other several meters away from the cliff that overhung the Palute Sea. Sparky was chuckling at something Mel said. Mel spotted us first.

"Ugh, they're here! And we forgot to set up all the cool traps we were designing! There was this one with invisible lightning and a trap door—"

"—and a mechanical arm—" Sparky added.

"—and this cool laser water evaporating thing—"

"—and several evil laughs—"

"—and a crazy old man and an annoying kid getting their butts handed to them," I interrupted.

A look of confusion crossed Mel's face. "I don't get how that would work," he said. Sparky grinned madly.

I turned my attention to him. "What, no immediate electrocution? You're starting to slack."

{Anita, don't _suggest_ that,} Apple said.

"Please pick one Pokemon for the prelim and three for the later battle."

"Hey, I already beat your prelim!" I complained.

Sparky shrugged. "You lost."

I grimaced and unclipped three Pokeballs—Splash, Vanilla, and Fiery. During the speed training, Splash was the fastest, followed closely by Apple and then Fiery. However, after practice, when Splash covered himself in mud and started chasing Vanilla, he was never able to catch her. Despite Splash's and Vanilla's lack of experience, I needed to use my fastest Pokemon in battle to keep up with Sparky. I would use Fiery for the prelim.

I released Fiery and handed Sparky his Pokeball, along with Splash's and Vanilla's. Apple trotted near Sparky, but ensured that there was at least a two-meter gap between her and the gym leader. "Mel, take Anita's other Pokeballs and backpack and head inside. Go with this other young lady down the staircase I showed you earlier. I'm going down a different way and I'll meet you at the bottom."

Mel nodded and did as requested. Erin mouthed, "Good luck!" before following Mel around the gym.

{I thought I wasn't battling,} Fiery grumbled.

{Prelim,} I replied.

"Come here." Sparky motioned to follow him as he approached the cliff edge. Fiery and I took a few steps forward and then stopped. Sparky's smile widened and a spark danced across his teeth and then up his hair. "Closer."

I reluctantly took two more steps. Call it fear, common sense, instinct, or whatever—approaching a lunatic with the power to control electricity standing _on a cliff edge_ just did not seem like the best idea.

"Come right here." Sparky gestured to the area next to him. Sparky waited until both Fiery and I were right next to him before cackling, "There's a cavern at the bottom of this cliff. If you follow the cavern far enough, you will find the battle area where I'll be waiting. Your prelim is to get to the battle area."

I peered over the cliff and watched the sparkling ocean crash against the rocks.

Then, suddenly, sharp knives jabbed at my skin—my heart—my lungs. My mouth was open but I couldn't scream.

My feet weren't touching the ground any more. The ocean rushed toward me—

{ANITA! FIERY!}

And then I abruptly stopped plummeting. An invisible force held me above the rocks. I noticed Fiery was beside me, watching the ocean below. Water sprayed up from the rocks, but we were still too high for it to reach us.

I felt a surge of anger from Apple above us, and automatically thrust my mind into hers. She was running forward, sizing up Sparky and looking for a good place to bit him. {Stop!} I yelled. Through Apple's eyes, I saw that Sparky held a long string of lightning between his hands.

Apple continued running at him.

{STOP!} I yelled again, putting a psychic force behind my words. Surprisingly, Apple actually halted.

{He pushed you and Fiery OFF OF A CLIFF!}

{It's the prelim. Apple, save your energy for the battle. Then, I promise, you can bite him all you would like. Thank you for saving us. Now follow Sparky wherever he's going to take you.}

{No.}

{Apple, we don't have time for this. We're both wasting psychic energy. We need all the energy we can get to fight Sparky.}

Apple's will wavered slightly. That would have to be enough. It was difficult to endure a connection for such a long time over a great distance. I retreated to my own mind.

Fiery was still watching the ocean.

{It's okay,} I told him. {I won't let you fall.}

I surveyed our distance from the ocean below us, and approximated it to be about the height of twelve Pokemon Centers.

I sighed and mentally prepared myself for the strain I was about to put my mind through. I forced my mind forward to create a barrier about a yard below the barrier we currently stood on, only a little farther away from the cliff. I jumped and landed on the barrier.

{Fiery, come on.}

Fiery didn't move. He could not take his gaze off of the ocean.

I reached up to the original barrier and pulled Fiery into my arms. He was warm and fairly heavy, but I held on to him anyway.

I continued the make a barrier, hop, make a barrier, hop pattern for a while. After a while, my legs began to ache so I made the leaps smaller. Eventually, I was just walking down an invisible spiral staircase.

Once, Fiery squirmed in my arms, and my concentration broke. We fell, but I managed to regain my concentration and create a new barrier in less than two seconds.

When we reached the cavern right above the rocks, I took a few steps in so Fiery would not get splashed with water, dropped Fiery on the ground, and slumped against the wall. My brain hurt like a muscle that had been pushed to its limit, but I felt surprisingly good. I had managed to get us to the cavern without allowing Fiery to get wet and with very few mistakes.

It was weird. For the first time, I had confidence in my psychic powers.

Fiery put a paw on my leg. I looked into his red-tinted eyes and he leaned forward to lick my face. I was too tired to reach my mind out to hear what was saying, but I smiled and patted his head.

We sat in silence for several minutes until I finally got to my feet. We walked into the cavern. I wanted to check on Apple and Erin and Mel, but I lacked the strength to even create a connection with Fiery. It was not long before I could see a bright light.

Fiery and I entered what appeared to be a battle arena. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of dirt and stone. There were no light bulbs. I squinted at the walls, trying to figure out where the light was coming from. When I remembered our previous battle, I realized the other arena had been illuminated the same way.

A deep laugh echoed around the arena. "It's called bright powder," Sparky said. I finally noticed him casually standing by a wall on the other side of the arena. "Run a current through it and it lights up." Sparky pointed to my left. "Behind that door are your Pokemon."

I turned around and saw the door. Aside from a small bronze handle, it looked like part of the wall. I swung the door open.

I stood motionless. A pebble tumbled somewhere in the cavern. Slowly, I turned to face Sparky. "Where—"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"—is this stupid place anyway?" I asked, forcing my tired legs down yet another four steps. "And Sparky said he'd meet us at the bottom. How'd he get there? Why couldn't we go the same way? When will these stairs end?"

Mel seemed unaffected by the never-ending staircase. He continued leaping down excitedly, impatiently waiting for me to catch up at every turn. "Sparky's way is a hundred foot drop through the ground. He thought you'd be uncomfortable using it. He does something funky with controlling electricity for it to work."

"He cares about my well-being. I'm flattered," I said sarcastically.

"He's not like everyone thinks he is. Like your mom. She talks really bad about him. But he isn't really like that—he's like me!"

"That doesn't help his case."

_**BANG**_

"What was that?" I asked.

"The battle must have started! And we're missing it! Come on, go faster!"

"My legs won't move any faster, Mel. They feel like they're going to fall off."

Mel grabbed my hand. "Come on!" Suddenly, my feet weren't on the ground any more. I couldn't feel my legs—I couldn't feel anything.

Mel pulled me down a few stairs. "What—stop! Mel, let go!"

And then I was in the ground. It was so bizarre having dirt and rocks and an occasional Diglet pass right through my body that I did not think to scream. I wondered what would happen if I became tangible again while passing through the dirt.

There was another loud bang and then a louder crash. Mel pulled us towards the sound.

We came upon a cavern with a bright light at the end of it. I heard Anita's voice yelling something, but the echoes distorted the sound and I couldn't make out what she was saying. Mel made us solid again and ran towards the light. I sprinted after him.

Mel stopped abruptly at the arena's entrance. I gazed past him. The walls of the arena appeared to glimmer, giving off random light. I suspected the dirt was partially composed of bright powder and would have taken a sample to test later if it had not been for the intense scene in front of me.

An invisible force held Sparky five meters off of the ground against the wall to the left of where Mel and I stood. I was astonished that despite his situation, he continued to cackle. Beneath Sparky, a Jolteon, Flaffy, and Electabuzz were helplessly pinned to the wall as well. In the back left corner of the room, Vanilla and Splash cowered behind Fiery, who sat like a statue.

Everyone had their eyes on the center of the arena, where Anita stood. The air around her was strange, wavering slightly. Her hands were clenched into fists and her face taut.

It was her eyes, though, that really scared me shitless.

Her eyes glowed a bright purple and seemed to pierce right through Sparky, who she was staring at intently. Sparky's head was slammed into the wall. "Where is she?" Anita said icily.

Sparky didn't answer. For the first time, I saw his mad grin falter.

"What the hell did you do with Apple?"


	32. The Search is On

Note from the Editor:

Hey, everyone. This isn't Delongbi speaking...this is her editor. Due to a series of unfortunate events (aka the new Pokemon game eating her time...) Delongbi has become woefully behind in updates. I feel that this has been unfair to YOU, the READERS. Thus, I have begged her to be allowed to release this NEW, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN chapter, even though she doesn't currently have access to a computer and can't do it herself. On that same note, Delongbi is currently travelling and therefore won't be updating for a few weeks, but I assure you that she IS planning and writing and she'll have a chapter or two ready when she gets back. She'd better. I may use force if she doesn't :)

So enjoy! This is one of my favorite chapters.

Also, this chapter is dedicated to Quagsire. You know who you are.

Chapter 29: The Search is On

_Next_

Click.

_Results 21-30 of about 154,000._

Click.

The familiar picture appeared on the screen. A collapsing Pokemon Center. Blue flames. A teenage girl crying. The caption read, _Cherrygrove City fire kills three. Emily Johnson mourns the loss of her brother, Matthew Johnson._ That was a slight change. Every other website had commented on the unusual circumstances of the fire, not the people involved. _Legendary Fire?_ was a popular article title, as was _Cherrygrove Police Failure_.

I was not even certain of what to look for. The blue fires of Cherrygrove City and Vintage Village were my only leads as to how my father had known. Interestingly, the fires occurred within a hundred years of each other. Was this the information my father had?

It would imply that multiple Mews existed or the 5,000-year legend was, in fact, just a legend.

I scrolled down the page. There was another picture of the teenage girl. She was crying in the arms of a police officer while another officer carried a crate of rescued—but somewhat charred—objects. A doll in the crate caught my eye.

I closed the web page.

The doll had possessed a zipper mouth.

Banette. A Pokemon with a fetish for neglected dolls with the ability to produce blue fire using will-o-wisp.

Another dead end.

My father _had_ known. He had known before he became he became a gym leader—before he became the Master—before he died, leaving me in the position as Master, as gym leader, as the only person capable of finishing what my father had started.

Except he did not leave me the most vital information. How to destroy Mew. Four years in Drape Town spent searching through records, files, journals, family heirlooms—and not a clue.

He had known. He _had_ to have known… right?

"_That was sloppy, Velcan!" Harvey Darcleye called from across the gym._

_In the center of the gym, a Sneasel stood above a Charmeleon pointing, pointing a bright, sharp claw at the fire Pokemon's throat._

"_We're not through!" a thin man with disheveled black hair yelled back. Suddenly, Charmeleon started to glow. The Sneasel took a step back._

_A boy in the stands watched in confusion._

"_Charizard!" The newly evolved Charizard flexed its wings, turned to the Sneasel, and released a stream of flames from its mouth. Harvey pulled out Sneasel's Pokeball and returned the Pokemon._

_Velcan grinned. "See, we—"_

"_You won't be able to evolve your Pokemon every battle," Harvey interrupted._

"_And your Sneasel won't be able to paralyze my Pokemon every battle. Each battle is different. We just use what we have to our advantage," Velcan answered._

_Harvey gave Velcan a crinkly smile. "Well said."_

_Velcan turned to the boy in the stands. "Ready to go?"_

_The boy nodded and began the descent to the arena. "Mr. Darcleye?" he asked._

"_Yes?" Harvey answered._

"_Why didn't you attack while Charmeleon was evolving?"_

_Harvey frowned and glanced at Velcan before answering. "It's an unspoken rule."_

"_Why?"_

_Harvey carefully answered, "A Pokemon can get seriously hurt if it is hit while evolving."_

"_Then wouldn't it be best to—"_

"_That's enough," Velcan interrupted. "A Pokemon that is attacked during evolution can undergo permanent damage. Not attacking during evolution is a truce between all trainers."_

"_Velcan," Harvey spoke quietly. "Where are you sending this boy to school? How old is he? Seven? He should have learned this by now. Especially with his sharp mind—"_

"_I'm homeschooling him."_

"_Are you sure that's for the best? Have you actually been—"_

"_Ask him the attacks of any Pokemon." _

"_No, I didn't mean—"_

"_We haven't covered official battle rules yet," Velcan said._

"_Mendol!" Harvey yelled. "It's rude to interrupt. And not attacking during evolution is not an official rule." Velcan opened his mouth to speak again, but Harvey held up a hand. "I don't doubt that you have taught your boy well. I am just concerned with his well-being. What does he do during the day when you're not home? A kid his age should be making friends in school."_

"_My Alakazam gives him lessons." Velcan lowered his voice. "He's been through a lot. We both have. Now is just not the best time for him to be attending school."_

"_I'm not trying to tell you how to raise your kid. Just want to make sure you know what you're doing."_

_Velcan smiled bleakly. "I do." The boy had reached the bottom of the stairs. Velcan took his hand. "Let's go."_

_At the doorstep of the gym, Velcan pulled a thin black cloak from his bag and handed it to his son. The boy routinely pulled it over his head, keeping the hood up. In the dim light, only his green eyes could be seen beneath the hood._

_The pair walked only a block before turning off of the street and approaching what appeared to be a dark, empty office building. Upon entering the building, however, it was apparent that the building was anything but empty. Hallways were filled with diffused light and several busy-looking trainers, researchers, and other subordinates. Offices along the outer walls had thick blinds to keep even the weakest light from seeping into the outside world._

_Velcan and the boy entered an elevator and were met by a tall, redheaded man wearing a black overcoat. The man nodded, "Mendol."_

"_Gibson," Velcan replied, smiling slightly. "How was your assignment? I heard the Master sent you to Sinnoh…"_

"_What I did is classified information."_

_Velcan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right. You've been gone a while. I know all about your failed dealings with Team Galactic. See, the Master promoted me because she values competence."_

_Gibson struggled to keep a straight face. "I was sent to Sinnoh because I'm the only person able to handle such a delicate situation—"_

"_Really? I hear she just wanted to get rid of you. Was tired of you, in fact."_

"_Tired?" Gibson echoed, looking slightly dazed. He stared at the elevator doors as if he was trying to burn a hole through them._

"_What were her exact words? Something like 'Too clingy. Can't get over the one night.' I was under the impression she thought you couldn't handle her screw and split tactic."_

"_Screw and…"_

"_You know, new guy every week. I hear Arkle was the lucky boy this week." Velcan winked at Gibson. "Hope I'm next." The elevator opened to the fourth floor and Velcan and the boy stepped out. Despite being the top floor, the redheaded man did not move. Velcan waved a cheery goodbye to the stunned man as the elevator doors closed._

_Velcan dropped his false smile and let out a long breath. He took the boy's hand. "Time to see the Master."_

_After walking down two twisted halls full of several wooden doors, Velcan and the boy stood in front of one such door. The door opened by itself to a room even less lit than the hallway._

"_Mendol…" A woman said from the shadows. As the father and son entered, the woman added with distaste, "And Mini-Mendol…" _

"_Master." Velcan pulled out a cloth bag and placed it on the woman's desk. "That is Devon Corporation's latest recording technology."_

"_You completed your assignment rather quickly. May I ask how…?"_

"_I have connections."_

"_And the gym leader?"_

"_Continues to not look for, think about, or even consider Team Glop'emm."_

"_Well, Mendol, your performance for the team has been… incredible. Never have I been inclined to promote a charming man so rapidly." The woman licked her lips and ran a hand through her hair. "If only you would leave the boy—even for a moment…"_

_Velcan's eyes darted to the corner of the room, where a Kirlia stood against the wall. He squeezed his son's hand tighter. "I have my reasons. One day, my son may be of use to the team."_

"_Of course, of course."_

"_Master? There's something you should know."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Gibson… he—"_

"_What about Gibson?" The Master said uneasily._

"_It's just, I overheard him talking to some of the guys. He was comparing you to some woman named Jupiter… talking about performances. He said you liked to come off all dominant, but…"_

"_Mendol, your next assignment is on your desk. Please leave."_

_Velcan nodded and pulled his son from the room. As they exited, the boy heard the Master mutter, "Should start calling him Meddle… perhaps for the best, though…"_

_Velcan and the boy walked down the hall and entered another office, this one empty. Velcan flipped the lights on and sat down behind a large desk, placing the boy on his lap._

"_So, you see what I did?" Velcan asked._

"_You made them angry at each other," the boy answered._

"_Do you know why?"_

"_We need resources."_

"_That's why we want to be in control of the gym and of Team Glop'emm. I'm talking about tactics."_

"_You want to split them up."_

_Velcan ruffled his son's hair. "Right. Divide and conquer. That's important to remember." Velcan glanced past the boy to a framed scripture on the wall. "Always divide…"_

"_Dad, I don't like the Master. She's creepy."_

"_I don't like her either. But she won't be around much longer."_

"_You're going to kill her?" the boy asked in alarm._

"_No, of course not. Then how would we be better than the legendaries, hmm?" Velcan patted his son's back comfortingly. "Jamie and I are going to get the Master to leave of her own accord."_

"_Because she'll be divided?"_

"_Right."_

"_I don't like this cloak," the boy randomly said. "It gets in my eyes."_

_Velcan turned the boy around. "Listen to me. You must never go out without the cloak. Never. We cannot trust these people. Not the Master, not Miss Teal, not even Jamie. Okay? These people can be useful, but we can never know for sure what they are thinking—"_

"_Unless we have a psychic Pokemon."_

"_You are proof that even psychic Pokemon can be mistaken. What we do is dangerous. Just promise me you will never let your guard down."_

"_I promise."_

_Velcan smiled. "Alright, then let's get to work. We have a legendary to find."_

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Anita," I said carefully. "Put Sparky down. I'm sure there's a valid explanation."

Anita ignored me. Sparky was shoved against the wall again. I noticed his arms and head were bleeding a little.

"Anita! Stop! He's an old man! You're going to kill him!" I looked helplessly at Mel. His eyes were wide in terror. An idea came to mind… "Mel," I whispered. "Take over—"

Mel shook his head violently.

"You have to—"

Anita turned to face us. "Don't even think about it," she hissed.

I wrapped my arms around Mel to comfort him. "A-An-Anita," Mel stuttered. "R-read his m-mind. You can t-tell wh-what happened."

Anita's strange bright eyes watched us. There was a moment I thought she would use her powers on us, but then Anita released Sparky from her psychic hold. She closed her eyes and took a long breath. "I can't feel her."

I wasn't sure if it was safe to approach her and Sparky yet, but Sparky looked like he needed help. Anita was completely motionless, still standing in the center of the battlefield. It was a sort of calm and a definite improvement. I decided to risk her wrath and check on Sparky. Mel didn't leave my side.

Sparky looked like an overturned rag doll among the various chunks of dirt and rock displaced from Anita's… tantrum. I bent over to examine the man. He had a gash in the back of his head and several scratches and bruises along his arms, but it didn't look life threatening. I reached to feel his forehead, but when a spark sizzled over his skin, I thought better of the idea.

Sparky moaned something incoherent and rolled over.

"What?" I asked, sending a quick glance at Anita. She was still motionless.

"Pokemon," he murmured. "Electric…" He tilted his head slightly to the wall he had been shoved against. I looked up. His Pokemon were still bound to the wall.

"Anita," I started. "Sparky's—"

The Pokemon were dropped to the ground before I finished. Anita didn't move.

I found Sparky's Pokeballs and returned his Pokemon. Sparky moaned again. "No. Electric. Need electric." His voice was hoarse.

I turned to Mel, who I still had my arms around. "Can you get him to a Pokemon Center? You did it with Anita before, right?"

"I… I don't know if I'll get electrocuted out. Anita did before. But I'll try." Mel disappeared. A few moments later, Sparky was getting up. Through Sparky, Mel spoke: "I can do it. I'll get him to your mom." Then Sparky disappeared.

I wasn't sure how to react to Anita. Should I try to comfort her? Leave her alone? I didn't want to set her off again. I briefly considered releasing Griffy to try to hold her, but thought that might make her angrier. Plus, I wasn't so sure Griffy could handle her in this state. I'd seen her do psychic tricks before, but this was new. And scary.

I decided my best course of action was to wait for Anita to say something. Maybe if I got lucky she'd fall asleep standing up.

"I can't feel her," Anita whispered again. "I can't feel Apple." Anita opened her eyes and looked at me painfully. Her eyes lacked the glow they had when she had been using her gift on Sparky.

After a brief internal struggle, I tentatively moved forward to give Anita a hug. Anita didn't return the hug, but she didn't stop me either. When I pulled back, I saw she was looking at Fiery, Vanilla, and Splash. I don't know what thoughts were exchanged, but Fiery nodded solemnly before Anita returned her Pokemon to their Pokeballs.

"Why don't we get going," I suggested.

"I have to find Apple."

"You said you couldn't feel her psychically, right? So she's certainly not here."

"I can't feel her _anywhere_. Not as far as I can reach out. Not in the whole town of Cape Caution."

"Ok, but there are ways of getting around your powers, right? Like the room you told me Sparky had set up. We can go check there—"

"Liam," Anita said definitively. "Liam took Apple." Her eyes started to glow again.

"Now, let's not jump to conclusions. There's no reason—"

"There's plenty reason—he's a suspicious son-of-a-bitch, never telling us anything—why he wanted to travel with us—why he doesn't use Pokemon but carries them around—"

"He told us an accident—"

"Bullshit." A rock crumbled somewhere in the arena. "He doesn't want me reading the minds of his Pokemon. He knows I'll find out what he's really after—"

I did not like the direction this was going. Attempting to distract Anita enough to prevent her from blowing anything up, I said, "You couldn't read their minds. He has dark type—"

"Yes, we know he carries around one dark type. Funny how that's the only one he's used. I'm a psychic but I don't carry around all psychic type Pokemon."

"You don't carry around any psychic type," I pointed out.

Anita stared at me for a second, the glow in her eyes flickering. "Right." She turned around and strode across the arena.

"Uh, Anita, I think the stairs are over—" My throat went dry when I saw Anita's eyes and facial expression.

"There's a better way," she said coldly. "Over here." Anita walked around a rock crag that had appeared from a distance to be a smooth wall. I had a bad feeling about the whole situation, but I was not going to let Anita out of my sight so I followed her.

We walked silently through a small dark passage before coming to a dead end. "Anita," I said softly. "We can—"

"This goes all the way up to the gym." I looked upwards and saw we appeared to be standing at the bottom of a large hole. I couldn't see the top.

"Yeah, but how—"

"Sparky had an electric wire and motor."

"We don't have electricity—"

"Shut up. I can get us up." Anita's eyes glowed again. I opened my mouth several times, wanting to comfort her or tell her to stop taking her anger out on me or convince her to calm down.

I managed to utter a series of, "Mmmhs."

After five minutes of chickening out, I finally said, "Anita, let's go use the stairs. It's okay if you can't get us up this way." Frankly, I was relieved.

"I can do it. I _did_ it before. With Sparky." Anita breathed sharply and punched a wall. "Damn it, I can do it! I have to do it!" she yelled in frustration.

"Look, you were angry before and now you're having trouble concentrating—"

"I'M STILL ANGRY! APPLE WAS FUCKING TAKEN AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!"

Suddenly, I was hurled upward. Rocks and dirt rushed past me as my hair whipped painfully against my face and shoulders. I closed my eyes until my stomach started to drop. Then I peeked them open and realized the rocks were moving in the opposite direction.

I was plummeting. Anita was falling with me—I hadn't realized she was with me before. Her face was twisted with concentration.

I don't know how I did it, but I did. Somehow, my brain processed all of this information fast enough for me to grab Griffy's Pokeball and yell, "Psychic, Griffy!"

We stopped falling. I looked down. We were about ten meters from the bottom. {Griffy, do you have enough power to bring us up?} I asked.

{I believe so, Miss.}

We started to rise slowly. I turned to Anita to tell her that thanks to Griffy we would not, in fact, plunge to our deaths, but when our eyes caught she looked determinedly away.

I glimpsed a tear rolling down her dirty cheek.

Gently, I put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.

By the time we reached the top of the hole, Anita's eyes were dry. Griffy collapsed next to the hole, panting with exhaustion. I ran a hand across his fur and muttered, "Thank you," before returning him to his Pokeball.

The room we had ended up in was dark and musty smelling. I looked around and found Anita already running towards the exit. "Wait!"

Anita didn't pause as she bounded up the stairs in the corner of the room.

I quickly got to my feet and ran after her. Luckily, she was not far ahead, and I always managed to glimpse the direction she was turning just before she actually turned down a white hall. It was not long before we reached the outside. Anita was not bothering with the dirt path; she cut directly across the grass in the direction of the lab.

I followed in her path, breathing hard, propelling my legs, and thanking the Great Dragon I had worn tennis shoes instead of heels. Not that I couldn't run in heels. I just can't run as fast in heels—Zach once timed me—

This was not the time to be spacing out. Anita was going to try to strangle Liam and Liam would probably end up breaking her arms and legs in the process.

The biggest problem at the moment, though: I wasn't gaining on Anita.

I had longer legs and longer strides and we were running down hill, but I just couldn't seem to get any closer to her. The results of Liam's training, I supposed. Ironic.

I almost reached for Griffy's Pokeball before I remembered he was drained from his psychic exertion. Anita was only two hundred meters away from the laboratory, and I was still two hundred meters behind her. Professor Blubber was going to flip if any of his equipment was damaged…

Suddenly, I stopped running. I was an idiot. I reached into my backpack, pulled out my PokeTech, and pressed a few buttons. A few seconds later, Professor Blubber appeared on the small screen.

"Professor! Get Liam out of the lab, now!"

"Why—"

"No time! Just do it!"

Behind the Professor, I saw Liam carrying a box of supplies. Professor Blubber turned around. "Erin says you need to leave the lab."

Liam rolled his eyes.

"Liam, Anita's going to arrive at the door in about fifteen seconds to tear your throat out! You need to leave!"

"I can handle Anita," Liam snickered.

"Yeah, well, whether or not that's the case, the _lab_ cannot! Get out!"

Anita reached the door. Even though it was probably unlocked, she psychically cracked it down the middle. I both witnessed the crash and heard it through the PokeTech. Professor Blubber blanched. "Go out the back window," he ordered.

Liam frowned, hesitating. "Why is she—"

"Liam's outside on the side of the building!" Professor Blubber yelled. Anita immediately backtracked out the front door. When Professor Blubber noticed Liam was not moving, he scooped Liam up wedding style.

"Hey! What—"

"I think you need to get out of here away from that girl. You're a strong lad, right?" He lightly tossed Liam out the window. Now I could see Liam in real life—not on the PokeTech screen. I could also see Anita turning the corner of the laboratory. "Well what are you doing? Run!" Professor Blubber turned back to me on the PokeTech screen. "Jesus, Erin, you didn't tell me the girl could do martial arts. Now I have a door to replace. What did Liam do to her? He is faster than her, right?"

"Um, Professor, Anita doesn't really do martial arts. Unless you count the stuff Liam taught her. Liam's the one with all the martial arts."

"So… the door?"

"Well, she's a psychic," I answered, distracted. Anita had reached Liam. She was attempting to punch him. I started to jog down the hill towards the lab.

"Where is she?" Anita yelled.

I glanced back at the screen. I hadn't thought the Professor could get any whiter. "_She's a_ _what?_ Erin, you just let me hand over a boy to _a clearly unstable psychic?_ As in, like Tamara Lilac psychic? She blew up a door, Erin!"

"That's why she couldn't be in the lab. For whatever reason, her powers don't affect Liam. Trust me, he'll be okay."

Just then, several mounds of dirt exploded around Liam.

"Um, I gotta go."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

As soon as my foot made contact with the ground, I tensed my calf and quickly rebounded in another direction. Logically, my best tactic would be to keep on the move because even though Anita's gift was directly ineffective against me—

Dirt and rocks burst upwards from the spot I had been in milliseconds earlier.

—she could exploit the environment.

For a moment, I was tempted to let Anita continue on her rampage. It had been a long time since I had a decent fight. I missed the adrenaline rush, the surprise of a good opponent, the manipulation of chaos to control—

But there were more important matters. Why I was being attacked, for instance.

More dirt exploded between Anita and me. Instead of avoiding it again, I leapt directly through it and grabbed Anita's hand, effectively ending the fight.

"Liam! You're okay!"

I turned my head slightly and saw Erin running towards us. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Anita shift her body in an attempt to kick me. I simply lifted a leg to avoid being hit.

"You seemed more worried about the laboratory than about my well-being," I said, returning my attention to Anita. She continued to twist her hand in a poor attempt to force me to release her wrist.

"What did you do?" Anita said hoarsely, finally letting her hand rest. She glared at me. Her face was smeared with dirt and—were those tears?

"You know, I was about to ask the same question," I said.

"Anita thinks—" Erin started.

"No, I KNOW you took Apple!" Anita yelled.

"Apple's missing," Erin explained. "Anita can't sense her so we thought…"

Apple was gone. My heart skipped a beat. We had been so focused on Anita. Sure, we considered the others, always keeping in mind alternative possibilities, but Anita—perhaps we had been too focused—maybe…

"So do you have her?" Erin asked.

"Who?"

"APPLE, YOU MORON!" Anita yelled in frustration.

"No."

"No?" Erin asked.

"No, I did not take Apple. Why the hell would I take Apple?" Why would Mew assume I took Apple? Why would Anita assume I took Apple? Sure, I got the impression that she did not particularly like me, but…

Suppose Apple was Mew. What if Anita knew? What if she somehow knew that I was looking for Mew? Of course, I would be the first person she would suspect when Mew goes missing.

"I c-can't feel Apple anywhere." Anita was really crying now. Suddenly, a bizarre pang of guilt for restraining her wormed its way into my chest. I frowned. "S-sorry. M-my gift doesn't work on you s-so I thought m-maybe you took A-Apple."

Or maybe she did not know. Maybe Apple was not Mew. Maybe Anita was not Mew. There were too many possibilities…

I needed to get away to use the walkie. There was a sure way to confirm whether Apple was Mew…

"Where's your bag?" Erin asked.

"In the lab." I narrowed my eyes at the girl. "You think I took Apple, too?"

Erin shrugged. "Anita's paranoid… but she's right. You're really the only one we know who could pull something like this off."

"I feel so trusted."

"If you didn't do it, then you have nothing to worry about," Erin said as she walked away from us. "I'll just get your bag and we'll take a peek." She rounded the corner of the lab.

Anita slumped down to sit on the ground, and as I was still holding her wrist, I was forced to sit down as well. She sniffled. I watched tears roll down her face and lightly hit the grass.

"You should stop crying," I said.

"Why? Because it's pointless, and useless, and won't find Apple?" Anita said sourly. "I know that."

"Well, I was going to say it is weird, but that works, too."

"What would you do if one of your Pokemon—right, you don't like Pokemon—what if someone you care about—do you actually care about anyone?" Anita put her head on her knees. "I guess it's pointless to talk to someone like you."

"I'd do anything for the people I love."

_Two dark-haired boys playing in the sand, splashing each other with salt water, wet sand sticking to small feet as they slide in shallow water—_

"You sure know how to show it."

"I don't love you."

"I wasn't talking about me, dumb-ass. You don't seem to care about anything or anyone—"

"Says the crying, self-involved girl who can't keep her emotions in check and has an inability to focus on anything that doesn't directly relate to herself or her precious Pokemon."

Anita turned her head away. "Y-you're wrong."

"So are you," I snapped.

"I'm back!" Erin said, returning with my bag. She dropped the bag in front of Anita. "Want to do the honors?"

Anita picked up the bag. I thought she would open the bag up and begin unshrinking everything. I was overestimating her intelligence.

Anita hurled the bag as hard as she could at the ground. There were several cracks followed by flashes of light as the shrinkable containers in my bag broke, releasing their contents all at once. I was grateful to have the walkie-talkie and Pokeballs in my pocket at the moment, not smashed in my bag.

"Thank you for that temper tantrum," I said.

Erin and Anita examined my possessions, now prominently on display across the grass. There was my broken bicycle, three piles of neatly folded clothes, a half-empty first aid kit, two loaves of bread wrapped in plastic, peanut-butter, a few notebooks and writing utensils, my PokeTech, and my Pokedex.

"Where's your toothbrush?" Erin blurted out.

"At your house, still."

A breeze swept by, causing one of my notebooks to flutter open and a pile of shirts to topple over.

"Anita, he doesn't have Apple. Let's go to the police station and talk to Officer Jenny."

Anita's face was blank and she started to get up. I stopped her for a moment. "Are you in control?" I asked.

Anita nodded.

I released her wrist. Her eyes glowed briefly and then returned to their normal violet.

"Maybe you should hold on to Anita, just in case," Erin said hesitantly.

I raised my eyebrows at Erin. "I'm not coming with you. Next time you want my help, consider not smashing my belongings first. It's polite."

Erin shifted her weight uncomfortably. "She'll pay you back."

"Good."

"Liam, she's really hurt now. With Apple missing…"

I crossed my arms. "Okay."

Erin sighed and took Anita's hand. "Let's go."

I waited until they were out of sight to pull out the walkie-talkie.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I held up the final flash card.

"Grill."

"No, Sticky. Girl. Repeat after me, girl."

"Grill."

My Ditto, Sticky, was sprawled in a plastic chair across from me, its body a perfect replica of mine. We were in an isolated experiment room practicing Sticky's English. "Come on, Sticky, this is no time for games. This is the last card. Pull your cheeks in a little bit. Girl."

"Grill."

"Excuse me, Professor Teal."

One of my many research assistants peeked his head through the door. His eyes flickered between me and Sticky, confused as to which of us was the real Rita. "Yes?" I answered.

"Another prototype is ready for testing."

"Bring it in."

The assistant entered the room holding a metal cube the size of shoebox with two metal rods sticking out of one face. I took the box from him.

"Now, Sticky, this might hurt a little bit."

"Heart?"

"Pain. Remember pain?"

"Yes, pain. Not no brain. Sound hard make. Know pain."

I flicked a switch on the device and held it out to Sticky. Sticky willingly lifted its hand to touch the two metal rods. A blue spark flickered onto her palm.

"Ow."

I returned the device to the assistant, shaking my head. "It still doesn't untransform her. It needs more work. Have you been working with Tal? The Alakazam's psychic will make it easier to manipulate the electric pulses."

"Yes, Ma'am. We'll get right on it."

"I'll be there in just a minute to have a better look. I need to clean up here."

The assistant gave me a funny salute and exited the room quickly. I sighed. It was a little disturbing how terrified several of the grunts were of authority figures on Team Glop'emm. Though I suppose with Jamie and the Master in charge, it was to be expected.

I gathered up my notebook and several stacks of flash cards.

"Help?" Sticky asked.

I looked at the Ditto. "What?"

"I help?"

"You'd like to help?"

Sticky nodded. I handed her two stacks of flash cards and we exited the room.

"I you now," Sticky said as we walked down the tiled hallway.

"Yes, Sticky, you are transformed into me right now."

"Yes. Not no brain. I w-won't me."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand, Sticky."

"I you. Not me. I won't me." Sticky grimaced and made a strange face, widening her mouth. "I want me."

"Sticky, you don't have your own human form—" I was cut off by a buzzing on my hip. It was the walkie-talkie Jamie had so kindly left behind for me.

"Master?" I answered.

"Er, no. This is Liam, the Master's detective."

"Oh. I didn't realize there were three walkie-talkies…" I said.

"Is this Professor Teal? Isn't Mr. Arkle supposed to have the other walkie? May I speak with him?"

"Yes, this is Rita. Yes, Jamie is supposed to have the other walkie. Jamie, however, left the other day for some supposed family emergency."

"Did he tell the Master?"

"He said he would. Can I help with whatever it is you are calling about?"

"Do you have access to the Pokemon tracking device?"

"Of course."

"Have there been any sightings of Pokemon X in the past twelve hours? I have reason to believe Pokemon X transformed a few hours ago in or around Cape Caution. I wanted to confirm this before contacting the Master—you know how he dislikes false alarms."

"I do not believe Pokemon X has been sighted. If it had been, I would have been informed, and the Master would have been contacted immediately. I will go double check." I quickly walked into the experiment room with the tracking device in it, sat down, and ran a history search on Mew. "No, Pokemon X has not been located since the third of July."

There was silence on the other end.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes. Disappointed. Thank you."

"No problem." I hung up the walkie and swiveled around in my chair. Where Sticky had just been standing, a young girl with blonde hair now stood. "Sticky?" I asked tentatively.

"I not you."

"No, you're not. Who are you? I don't think I have seen the girl you transformed into before."

"You can't. She nerve. She nerv-ner-nev-never. She never. I me."

"I don't understand."

"I me. I make me. I me."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. My hands shook. "Y-you're telling me you _made_ her. You _created_ what you transformed into?"

Sticky smiled happily. "I girl."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

My lungs were being crushed. I couldn't move. I couldn't flick my tail, twitch my ears, or wiggle my pink claws. Not a muscle.

{I know you can do better,} 868,012 said coldly, pressing the psychic barrier even harder. 868,012 is what most of my kind called him. I preferred, "_Father_."

{Someone's been too busy being a little trainer's pet furball to build up a strong psychic,} a voice taunted.

I pushed my mind, forcing air into my lungs, but I wasn't strong enough to push the barrier crushing me away. It was pointless, anyway—this training. There would never be a time when traveling with Anita that it would be safe enough for me to resume my form as a Mew. I counted the years in my head—I was fairly certain I had spent more time as transformed Pokemon than I had as a Mew.

Suddenly, I was released from the psychic grip. {Meditation break for an hour,} Father Mew said. {You're not focusing.}

I didn't move, allowing all my sore muscles to relax. I tried to drift into oblivion…

{You're never going to get back at this rate. Never going to complete your training,} the voice taunted again.

{Shut up,} I said.

{You _miss_ her. Want to know what she's doing right now? She's _crying_ over you. Poor little girl doesn't have her best friend, doesn't know what happened to her best friend because her best friend didn't warn her—}

{I didn't know.}

{Sure. You had the dreams. You knew. You didn't want it to be true. And now look, you've yet again brought about chaos.}

{You could bring me back before that. Before Anita misses me.}

{I could.}

{You will,} I demanded.

{I could, but then there'd be no fun, hmm?}

{You're sick.}

{No, I'm actually feeling quite well. You're the one who's looking beat.}

{I'll transform into you. I'll go back to the right time myself,} I threatened.

I felt something stroke my cheek. I opened my eyes and sent a psychic pulse above me.

A green little fairy, with pseudo-innocent eyes and nearly invisible wings flipped through the air, laughing. {No, my sweet, delectable Apple, you won't.} I blinked and the fairy was suddenly next to my ear. {And would you like to know _why_ you won't.} I thrust out another psychic pulse.

{Why?}

Celebi did another flip in the air. {Because someone's tracking you in your time. If you transform into your true self for even a moment, you're dead meat… or rather, dead fruit.}

{You're bluffing.}

Celebi winked. {Maybe. Want to test that theory?}


	33. Invisible Forces

{{{{{{{{{{

Hey guys. So, yeah. I'm lame. I apologize times 100000000000 (you get the point) for not updating. If you haven't noticed, my editor and I have been redoing the format of the chapters because this site no longer seems to like dashes and stars. In between points of view is now: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o. A change in time is now / / / / / / / / / / / / / /. And Author notes are now between {{{{{{{{{{{ }}}}}}}}}}}}}. If anyone sees something different and/or there is a point in this story you thought was confusing because there was probably supposed to be something indicating a point of view/time change, but nothing showed up, PLEASE let me know so I can fix it.

I also apologize because due to this fixing up, several of my comments to you reviewers were deleted.

So the whole writing a chapter a week was obviously a miserable fail. I'm back to once a month and plan to stay that way until this story is finished, unless for some reason I randomly get ahead. And note, I WILL FINISH THIS STORY- no matter how long it takes.

Anyway, I'd like to thank anyone who's still reading this. You guys keep me writing. Now for reviewer replies (for chapter 28 and 29 because I didn't actually post the previous chapter):

ChaosAngel4us- Ah, Jamie. Weird guy. He certainly does have big plans. And I'm glad you like Me, and you'll have to see about Apple...

Bronze Barometer- You have an awesome conspiracy cap.

sigrum- Just sorry.

Sands Buisle- Thanks! Several readers seem to believe similar conspiracies.

sloganlogan- Yup, that is probably the main reason I won't stop writing this story- it'd be such a waste because everything is planned out. Sorry about the late update.

TiDaktaKutdIMaLam- Apple refers to her predecessor Mew as Father, not Celebi. The sentence referring to Mewtwo was Apple's vision from her Father Mew's point of view (happened several chapters ago)

Q- Happy belated birthday! Sorry!

And finally, a double huge thank you to ChaosAngel4us. Seriously. Next chapter should come around the beginning of December. It's called Power Exchange. Thank you to all my readers, reviewers, and to my awesome editor!

}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 30: Invisible Forces

I was clueless.

Me. The Master. The fucking brilliant fourteen-year-old gym leader protégé. I had been contemplating the same nonsense for four years, following even the smallest leads—my father's notes, files, books, keyboard strokes—anything that might show me what he knew about destroying a legendary—and here I was back at square one.

The best option remaining was to recheck the evidence. Look for what could have been overlooked.

Press the rewind button.

Watch carefully.

"_Father, I think it's going to hatch soon!" a cloaked boy yelped, bouncing in a cushioned black chair behind a plain wooden desk. The boy's black cloak blended in with the dark chair, making the boy and the chair appear as one disfigured entity. In the center of the desk lay an egg cupped in a heated stand. The boy had one hand supporting his weight on the desk, and the other held lightly against the egg. "I felt a kick!"_

_The boy's father paced across the room and checked his watch. "We have to go now. The Master is meeting Gibson in her office in five minutes. Come." The father approached the door._

_The boy fell back into the chair, letting the shift in weight roll the chair backwards slightly._

"_Come," the father repeated._

"_Father, I think someone should stay. I read it's important for hatched Pokemon to see another living creature—"_

"_This is important, too. You need to witness—"_

"_But I already know what's going to happen!"_

"_Come, now. Regardless of whether you know the end result, it is vital for you to see every step of the process. I am going to be the gym leader and the Master. If something were to happen to me… These demonstrations—how easily people can be manipulated—it needs to be ingrained into your very core. You need to be... safe."_

_The boy hesitated only a second before following his father out the door. The two swiftly walked down the hall._

"_You're wearing my favorite shirt," the boy said._

_The father smiled. "Because you twined it yourself?"_

"_Because it keeps _you_ safe."_

_The father knocked on a wooden door._

"_Enter, Mendol," a voice called. "You have three and a half minutes."_

_The man and boy entered the dimly lit room. The Master sat a desk in the shadows, her Kirlia in its usual protective stance in the room's corner. "Please forgive my forwardness, Ma'am, but I have reason to suspect you might be in danger."_

"_What kind—"_

"_The kind that requires self-defense," the man continued. "Look, this will only take a minute to show you. It's just a basic move that will allow you enough time to get help—I… I heard Gibson threaten—I'd just feel much safer when you meet with him—I know you've been fighting—"_

"_Show me."_

"_I need someone to demonstrate with. My son is too small."_

_The Master rose from behind the desk. "You may demonstrate on me. Quickly. I have a schedule to keep."_

_The boy took a few steps back, closer to the Kirlia. The boy's fingers hung so they barely touched the Kirlia's dress. _

_Facing the Master's cloaked figure, the father placed his hands on the figure's waist._

_The door burst open._

_For a moment Gibson stood, a still silhouette in the doorway. For a moment, nobody moved._

_The boy never knew whether Gibson charged at his father or the Master. Whatever the case, the boy's father quickly stepped in front of Gibson, caught him around the wrist, and used the tall man's forward motion to send Gibson sprawling over the father's shoulder. The boy scuttled away from Kirlia to his father's side._

_On the ground, Gibson moaned, "Arkle… and Mendol… Diane, how could you? You whore—how many others?"_

_The Master slowly raised her hand to her head and pulled her cloak off. A small woman with four-inch heels and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes stood above Gibson. "There. I'm exposed. More naked than I've been every time I've crept under your covers late at night. Now do you understand my complete trust? Now, can I earn yours?" There were tears in the Master's eyes, fogging her glasses. The Master turned to the father. She handed him the cloak. "Mendol, I declare you the next Master. The paperwork is in the team's safe. The key is in my desk and the password is G-I-B-S-O-N. Don't try to contact me."_

_The Master swiveled toward the door and rushed out.  
_

_The father grinned and bent down so his head was level with Gibson's. "You're fired," he whispered._

_Later, the boy and his father returned to the father's office laughing. The boy tugged on the doorknob, eager to return to the egg._

_As the duo entered the office, they spotted the egg. Cracked. Bits of egg splattered the walls, the blinds, the father's framed scripture—_

_A cracked egg lay atop the desk, the pieces bloody, mingled with flesh and broken bones._

_Of an unborn, dead Eevee._

_Their laughter died quicker than an Eevee's head can snap._

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"It's disrespectful to point, Mel," Erin snapped, putting her delicious looking tuna sandwich down on her plate. I wanted a tuna sandwich. Mrs. Kendle gave me peanut butter and jelly. When I asked her for tuna she smiled at me and told me that I had a tuna sandwich on my plate.

I'm not stupid. I think she is. My sandwich wasn't tuna.

Scary told me that Mrs. Kendle thought I wouldn't like tuna so she was trying to trick me. I think that made her even stupider.

Oh, well Mrs. Kendle left for work anyway.

"I'm pointing at the ceiling, not at anyone. You can't disrespect the ceiling," I said, continuing to point at the nearest light bulb.

"That's right. You _can't _disrespect the ceiling."

I scrunched my eyebrows at Erin. "I don't get it. You agree with me?"

Erin rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Oh, never mind."

My game was more important than Erin's disrespect. She didn't know what she was talking about.

They probably didn't get why I was pointing because they were boring and couldn't see Scary. It was ironic that they never figured all the times Scary was out of his Pokeball, but invisible.

{Whatever.} _Ironic_ and fun! Scary and I played all sorts of games. Sometimes we made Erin's hair stick up after she used her foamy hair cream; sometimes we untied everyone's shoelaces within a hundred meters, sometimes Scary snuck up behind strangers to give them the chills…

But now we were playing a game Scary called "a _nice_ game." It was a game that was helpful to people—the opposite of our normal games. Nice games were usually boring and I'd only play them if Scary gave me candy, but this nice game was different. It was awesome!

What happens is I point to a light bulb and that's where Scary floats. That light bulb becomes the base. Scary has to protect the base and all the other light bulbs from dangerous psychic waves from the Evil Anita Empire that was upstairs. He uses his own psychic to predict the Evil Empire's attack and then from the base he sends out an invisible dark pulse at just the right moment to protect every light bulb.

The challenge was I changed which light bulb I was pointing to whenever I felt like it so Scary had to keep moving and it was hard for him to keep a constant lookout over all the light bulbs.

I moved my finger to point at a light bulb across the room. Scary moved to where I pointed.

I grinned when there was an explosion to my right. Little glass pieces fell onto Liam's turkey sandwich and the surrounding plate and table.

{Haha, you missed one!} I said, knowing Scary would hear my thoughts. Usually I had to be all ghosty inside a person or a Pokemon to exchange thoughts, but Scary knew how to use psychic—like the Evil Empire—so he could hear inside anyone's head.

Erin slammed the water glass she had been holding onto the table. A little bit splashed out. "That's it. We have to do something. That's the twelfth in a day and a half. She _can't_ keep exploding light bulbs."

My water glass exploded, making my peanut butter and jelly sandwich soggy. I smiled. Now I couldn't eat it. "And drinking glasses," I added. "Erin, can I eat the rest of your sandwich?"

Erin pushed her plate to me. "My _Griffy's training_ excuse isn't going to last much longer with my parents," she said.

I stopped pointing at the ceiling because I needed both hands to eat. I looked at Erin as I took a big bite. She was sending nasty eyes at Liam.

Liam poked at his peas, trying to get as many as possible stuck to each fork finger. When he finally noticed Erin's mean look, he said, "What?"

"You could be stopping her," Erin replied.

Liam snickered. "_Sorry._ I only hold her hand _twenty-three _hours a day. I apologize for wanting to eat."

"We have to get her to eat something. We have to get her to _do_ something," Erin said.

"Shove a bagel down her throat."

"Force isn't the way—"

"And letting her have a destructive temper tantrum is?" Liam paused. "She owes me several shrinkers."

Erin sighed. "Shouldn't she get tired or something? Don't her powers run out?"

"Yeah, every time she's fainted and been out for a few hours," Liam answered. "But as you have seen, she wakes up with more energy and then releases it in angry bursts. She's constantly exhausted and angry."

"So what do we do?"

"Find Apple. Or a dark band so she doesn't need constant vigilance."

"The police are looking. Anita's psychically looking when she's not unconscious or sulking."

Scary let out another dark pulse to stop Anita's psychic from reaching the light bulbs and the table. "I think she just needs focus," I said.

"Nobody asked you," Liam muttered.

They were dumb. Well, no, they were good at thinking and all. Liam was smart with battling and types of Pokemon and Erin was creative and had a brain—but they got an idea and only saw that idea. They were _too_ focused.

"Whenever Scary wants to keep me from doing something dangerous, he gives me candy or plays a game with me," I explained. "Like one time when I was six, I wanted to jump through wild rose bushes so Scary said he had hidden a chocolate bar—"

"I don't think candy is the solution to this one…" Erin said.

"Anita just needs something to do," I suggested.

"Like?" Liam asked.

An image of Anita putting a psychic barrier around Sparky popped into my head. "Like battle Sparky again."

Erin frowned. "Mel, I think she really hurt him—"

"No! He was a-okay! When I took him to the Pokemon Center it turned out all he needed was electricity—he's like his Jolteon—and now he's fine and ready—"

"Still, she's really dangerous right now—"

"I cannot believe I am saying this, but I think Mel might be right," Liam interrupted. "Battling Sparky would give her a temporary focus. It would probably drain her powers for a good deal longer than the couple of hours she's been knocked out…"

"I don't think Sparky can handle—"

"He's a gym leader," Liam said.

"He's also an old man."

"He can kick butt!" I added.

Erin hesitated. "Okay, suppose Sparky can handle Anita _and_ he agrees to do this. How the hell are we going to get Anita to battle him? She won't even leave my room."

"I doubt she'll leave for anything but information that might assist in locating Apple," Liam said.

"Then we should give her that," I suggested.

"We can't just make something up. She's already so upset—that'd be cruel," Erin said. "Plus, when she found out we were lying, she'd murder us…"

Liam folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.

I had a solution. "Scary and I give people make-believes all the time. We can give one to Anita. Then she wouldn't get mad at anyone."

Erin scratched her head. "What are you talking—"

"He means visions. He wants to give Anita a fake vision," Liam clarified.

"Oh—wait, he can do that? And I didn't think Anita usually got visions…?"

I nodded.

"The amount and clarity of visions depend on a psychic's amount of power," Liam explained. "Most psychics don't have enough power to ever receive them. In fact, most psychic Pokemon don't have enough power to receive visions. I don't know whether Anita has ever received a vision, but it is certainly possible, especially with regard to Apple because there's a strong bond—"

"Okay we get it," Erin snapped. "So what exactly, is Anita going to see?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_The room was dusty and sparkly and I could feel the dirt mingle with the sweat covering my body and turn to mud. In one hand, I held a metallic lightning bolt the size of a thimble. In the other hand I held a bag of dust._

_Neither brought me happiness. Neither made me feel anything at all._

_Then, suddenly, something changed._

_A spark. Not literal. In my gut or heart or brain._

_It wasn't hope._

_It just was._

_I felt her return. She was alive. She was here._

I jolted awake, got tangled in covers, and fell out of Erin's bed onto the orange carpet. I scrambled up to grab one of Erin's ponytail holders from her nightstand and quickly pulled my hair back. I didn't glance at the mirror, not wanting to see the dark circles that were forming under my eyes.

Apple would return.

My whole body ached as I leapt down the stairs. I was not sure if the lack of nutrition or the lack of sleep or the lack of movement caused this, but none of it mattered.

Apple would return.

I practically collided with Erin, who was nervously shifting at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm going to battle Sparky," I said.

"Anita, you need to eat—" Erin started.

"I'm going to battle Sparky _now_," I said. "Griffy can take me there fastest."

Erin nodded but did not move. Mel walked through the doorway carrying a sandwich on a plastic plate. "I'll let you borrow Griffy if you eat this sandwich," Erin replied.

For a second, I considered using my newly found telekinesis to take Griffy's Pokeball.

I snatched the sandwich from Mel's plate and stuffed half of it in my mouth. Four swallows later, Erin handed me Griffy's Pokeball.

Apple would return.

I would make sure that Apple would return.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Aw, we missed the prelim," I complained as Erin and I became solid. Erin sat down on a dusty rock against the wall, no letting go of my hand. I wanted to take my hand back because Erin was a girl and she might have a girly disease and I didn't want anyone to think she was my girlfriend, but I didn't want to make her upset. Plus, I could turn us ghosty if an attack came our way.

"I still don't think this is a good idea. What if Anita's too… you know? This whole thing. It's probably going to blow up in our faces. Literally." Erin hissed.

"Anita'll be tired and knocked out—" I started.

"Shhhh! She'll hear you!"

"Look." I pointed to the arena in front of us. Anita's eyes glowed like shiny turnips in moonlight, and there was a purple bubble around Sparky. In the center of the arena, Splash tackled Sparky's Electrode, who seemed to be held still against its will. "She's not paying attention to us."

Erin grumbled something and tried to kick a pile of dust by my foot. She ended up falling on the ground. I laughed. "With all of Sparky's stupid underground surprise gyms, you'd think at least one would have bleachers," Erin snickered. I pulled Erin back onto the rock and we both sat down.

The battle was turning kind of bad. Lots of ground was exploding, but the psychic bubble around Sparky kept flickering. Another psychic bubble around the Electrode was also flickering. It was like a bubbly purple firefly fest. I had a hard time seeing because Sparky was throwing lightning bolts that made the weird dust in the ground light up.

"Can I let Scary out of his Pokeball now?" I asked.

"No. I've already told you, Sparky said it's against gym leader policy. There can be no possible interference from spectators," Erin snapped. She then groaned as the Electrode hit Splash with a spark.

"I wish Liam were here," I said. "You're usually too busy annoying or arguing with him to be sad."

"Yeah, well, he's concocting something for when this plan fails so much that Arceaus will award us with giant F stickers."

"You're no fun when you're a worry Wartortle," I said.

Erin didn't answer. Splash fell to the ground and fainted from one of Sparky's lightning bolts.

I liked Sparky. He treated me like I was me and not some baby. Plus he could shoot lightning from his hands and could usually sense where I was even when I was invisible through electric pellets… or something. He was better at sensing ghosts than Anita.

When I squinted, Sparky looked like my dad with crazy hair.

"_Come on, dad! You're so slow!" A toddler with blond, nearly white, hair tugged at the hand of a short plump man wearing glasses. The two were trudging uphill through a lightly wooded field._

"_Mel," the man panted. "I'm not cut out for this sort of exercise. One mile, fine. We've had to have walked three by now!"_

_The pale boy crinkled his nose. "We'd already be there if you weren't so slow. Scary and I only take—" Mel looked at his watch and pretended to read. "Four hundred minutes."_

_Mel's father started to chuckle, but it quickly turned into a cough. "Four hundred minutes is a long time," he finally managed to say._

_Mel crossed his arms. "I said three hundred."_

"_That's still a long time.  
_

"_I said three hundred hours!"_

"_That's an even longer—"_

"_It was just really short, okay!" Mel said angrily. "We're almost there."_

"_I can't imagine what could possibly worth seeing…" the father murmered._

_The trees became more scattered and the wind picked up. The man squinted ahead, but the wind teared his eyes and he was forced to look at the dirt ground._

_Suddenly, Mel jumped up and ran around his father. "We're here!" Mel and his father had arrived at a cliff. The sound of the Palute Sea crashing against the rocks entwined with the coos of circling Winguls created a sort of ensemble the boy enjoyed immensely. He listened for a moment, and then— "Dad, watch what I can do!"_

_Mel jumped off the cliff._

I shook my head. Sometimes I wish I could turn my brain untouchable so it would fall out of my body.

A couple of nights ago Liam, Erin's creepy friend Zach, and I were talking at night about stuff we couldn't live without. Zach said medicine. I thought that made sense.

Liam said memory.

"_Ta-da! See, dad, I can float!" Mel exclaimed._

_Mel's father continued to look over the cliff. "Mel? Melvin?" he murmured. His right hand twitched._

"_Helll-oooo! Dad, I'm right behind you! Stop looking so scared!"_

_The father's hand slid over a Pokeball. In a flash of red, a Gengar appeared. "Scary," the father said, crouching into a sitting position. "My… Mel fell. Off. Off the cliff. He fell. Please, go get him. Find him."_

_Scary looked at the father, smiled, and pointed past the father's head. The father turned around. "What?" he asked._

_Scary continued to smile._

"_Dad, silly, I'm right here!" Mel yelled._

_The father snapped his head around. "God-damn it, Scary. MY SON JUST JUMPED OFF A CLIFF AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS PLAY MADE-YOU-LOOK JOKES!"_

_Scary quickly started shaking his head and frantically pointed at Mel._

"_You are USELESS! Go… do something. Get the police. Find my dead son's body. Do…" The father brought his knees close to his body and hung his head over them. "Go."_

_Scary's eyes flickered from Mel to his father. The Gengar disappeared._

"_Dad?" Mel asked tentatively. The boy reached forward to touch his father's shoulder. His hand went through the body. "Dad, why can't you see me? I didn't mean for this… I usually stop floating and turn all visible again. I don't know why… dad?"_

_The father squeezed his face into his legs and sobbed._

Liam's stupid. I could live without memory.

I couldn't live without Scary.

Fiery's tail lit up and crashed down onto Sparky's Electrode. The Electrode started to glow. A purple psychic shield appeared around Fiery. I grabbed Erin's hand. We turned intangible as the Electrode exploded, sending dirt and rocks everywhere.

When the dirt settled, it looked like Anita's shield hadn't held. Both Fiery and the Electrode were knocked out.

Sparky released a Flaffy. To my surprise, Anita released Sunflower and immediately created another bubble around the Eevee. As the Flaffy started shooting off thunderbolts, Sunflower created what looked like a purple ball of fur, but was really a shadow ball. I smiled, proud of the little Eevee. When Sunflower released the shadow ball, Anita did not have to pull back the shield. The ball went right through the purple shield and hit the Flaffy's stomach.

Scary taught me how to control my ghost powers, just like I taught Sunflower. It took a lot of time though. Way too much time.

"_Alright, Alakazam, you're sure you can't sense any life?" a man wearing a navy blue uniform asked, gesturing towards a cliff. The Alakazam nodded._

_A Gengar appeared behind the Alakazam and threw a shadow ball at the Pokemon. "Hey!" the uniformed man shouted. "Knock that out! I only tolerated your presence earlier because Alakazam claimed you wanted to learn how to use the attack psychic. I will not have you assaulting my Pokemon—" The man paused and stared at the Alakazam. "So this Gengar claims that the boy, Melvin, can change back and forth between ghost and human, but for right now, he appears to be stuck in ghost form. Can you sense this ghost boy? Kind of? Some sort of presence? Right, I know psychic types have issues with ghosts. Honestly, I think the Gengar has probably been traumatized by the loss of his trainer's son—" The man was forced to duck another shadow ball thrown by the Gengar. "Gengar… or Scary, as my Alakazam calls you. I believe you. I believe that you can see and communicate with the boy's ghost. But that's all it is. A ghost. No, the body was never found, but the body is more than likely crushed into indistinguishable pieces by the ocean and washed ashore elsewhere. Scary, it's up to you to help the boy move on."_

"_Anderson?" someone called. _

_The uniformed man looked past his Alakazam. "Look, Bert is coming now. I have to give him the unfortunate news…" Scary threw yet another shadow ball at the uniformed man. The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, Scary, but I cannot tell Bert about your ghost boy. It will just bring about completely false hope and a lot more pain. I can't do that to the poor man. It's been over six months. He needs to move on."_

_A gauntly man with graying hair and glasses approached Anderson. "So?" the man asked._

"_I'm sorry, Bert," Anderson replied. "Alakazam did not sense the body. The ocean has probably destroyed it by now."_

"_GENGAR! Gang!" The Gengar made evil faces at Anderson._

_Bert frowned. "Scary, how'd you get out of your Pokeball? I'm sorry, Anderson, he's been like this ever since… Anyway, thank you for trying…"_

_Anderson patted Bert on the back. "I'm sorry for your loss."_

_A ghost boy floated over the scene, crying waterless tears that would be neither seen nor heard. _

_Nor felt._

Flaffy fainted. The bombardment of shadow balls prevented the Pokemon from ever getting close enough to Sunflower to use Brick Break, which would have made Anita's barrier go poof. The barrier stopped both Sparky's and Flaffy's electricity from reaching Sunflower. It seemed like a super strategy to me.

Sparkles, my favorite of Sparky's Pokemon, was released into the arena. The Jolteon smirked at Sunflower and immediately dodged one of her shadow balls. Anita would need a new strategy. Or maybe she could just blow stuff up like she did with the lightbulbs.

I looked from Sparky to Anita. I couldn't decide who I wanted to win. Anita was nice. Sort of. And Sparky was, well awesome and cool and funny. Anita winning would mean I'd have to leave Sparky. Okay, so part of me really wanted Sparky to win. Most of me. It was like there was this little Combee inside my head though, buzzing with a pollen-sized bit of hope that Anita would win. I think it was because of the dream I gave her. I felt bad… and even though I know it was made up, I wanted it to come true.

To lose someone that close. It made the world fade from reality. I knew what that was like.

"_You are released. Free," a silhouette said standing with one foot in the mansion and one foot on the porch. Sunlight beamed into the mansion around the man's figure._

_Scary shook his head and made to follow the man._

_The man sighed. "You are not coming with me. I… I have to try… try to move on and get better. With all your strange gesturing and anger and visions your give me—Scary, you remind me of M-Mel and the cliff—I can't—I'm sorry."_

_Scary turned invisible._

"_I know you're still there. I'm serious. I'll fight you if I have to," the man said. He reached into his pocket and pulled a Pokeball. Scary reappeared. The man pulled out another Pokeball and placed it next to the door. "That is—was your Pokeball. I… I didn't know what to do with it so it's yours."_

_Scary turned to the invisible boy floating next to him and gestured for the boy to follow his father out the door._

_The man at the door shook his head. "There you go again. Goodbye." The door closed. Scary pushed the boy forward._

_The boy hesitated. "Scary… I can't… you're the only one who sees me." _

_Scary pointed to the door._

_The boy shook his head. "No. I'm staying. Dad doesn't… he doesn't want me around." _

_Scary shook his head and grabbed the ghost boy's hand in an attempt to pull him through the door._

"_No!" The boy struggled. "I won't go! I love Daddy, but he's gone and he's been gone! I… I haven't hugged him in a lot of time, and… and now I don't need to. But you… without you I'm—_

"_I'm just a ghost."_

Anita was struggling. She couldn't seem to hold both a barrier around Sparky and Sunflower, especially with Sparky fighting against the barrier with his, well, sparkage. The floor lit up from the weird dust when Sparkles used thunderbolt.

The barrier around Sparky disappeared like a popped balloon. Our plan must have been working—Anita was finally losing all that pent up energy. Sparky took the opportunity to heal what little damage Sparkles had taken by sending more lightning bolts at the Jolteon.

"Hey, where'd Sunflower go?" Erin asked.

"Huh?"

"Sunflower. She just disappeared." Oh great, not again. Anita would collapse into an energy sucking ball of unhappy yuckiness if another one of her Pokemon disappeared. Anita didn't look upset, though—well, not any more upset than she had been before.

I looked back at the battlefield. The ground and walls continued to light up as Sparky and Sparkles released seemingly random electric sparks. It was very strange. There were no holes in the ground that I could see so I didn't think Sunflower was using dig.

Suddenly, Sparkles started yelping in pain. Sparky sent more electricity at the Jolteon, but it did not seem to have an effect. In fact, Sparkles started yowling louder and running in circles.

Sparky was being annoying. He was supposed to be crazy super master of all trickery, but he seemed as clueless as me. I bet Anita was doing mind tricks on Sparkles or something.

Anita pulled an Obi-wan and easily deflected one of Sparky's attacks away from her face with a flick of her hand. With lightning flashing, Sparkles' continuous howling, and Sparky shouting commands, the room was very loud and bright.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, the brightness and loudness suddenly ceased.

When the quickly dimming dust settled, I was able to see Sparkles sprawled across the dirt ground, thoroughly knocked out. To the left of the Jolteon, there was a giant ball of…

Wait. The ball moved and then disappeared. Dust wafted downward, as if it were falling from a broken snow globe.

"Eeveachooo!"

Beneath the falling dust, Sunflower sneezed. She shook out her body in an attempt to keep the dust from settling into her fur. How did…? "I don't get it," I said. "What happened?"

"I think…" Erin started. "I'm pretty sure Anita created a barrier around Sunflower and somehow managed to get this brightpowder—" Erin scooped up a handful of dust from the ground. "—stuck in or to the barrier. Then when all that electricity was being shot around—"

"The ball lit up like a… ball of light and blended in with the rest of the brightness," I finished.

"Right. And when Sparky's Jolteon was getting hurt by Sunflower, Sparky could not see what was causing the pain and tried to feed Sparkles electricity in order to heal the Jolteon. Only that didn't work because his sparks lit up the area around Sparkles causing Sunflower's bright barrier to blend right in."

"Okay, great. She won," I said as Sparky approached Anita. Sparky handed her a badge, and then bent down to the ground. As Erin had done, he scooped up a handful of dust. He put the dust in a small bag that looked like the lollipop part of an upside-down lollipop. Sparky then placed the bag in Anita's other hand. "So now what?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping she'd be out cold," Erin replied.

Anita had not yet reacted to the situation. She had not congratulated Sunflower, nor acknowledged the badge in her palm. Her head began to tilt away from Sparky, towards a staircase that I was pretty sure led to a back door.

Slowly, Anita mouthed the words, "She's here."


	34. Power Exchange

{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hello, readers. Hopefully you are all well and unstressed and not computer programming (because that's stressful... unless that's what you really love doing).

ChaosAngel4us- I'm happy that you're happy. And perhaps I do have an idea- believe me, there are stories I'm begging authors to write faster, too. :)

sloganlogan- Thanks! Me, too.

MourningBlack- Yeah, sorry bout the cliffies, but it's so hard to tie up all the ends in one chapter. Plus, gotta keep you peeps reading somehow. :)

obsessed-beyond-reason2001- I am truly honored to have a fangirl. Eeep! I'll do my best to keep updating as much as possible.

Bronze Barometer- Yes it did. I'm such a pooh-head. Poor Mel. We haven't heard the end of his story though... I think...

My-Earings-Are-Awesome- I think you're one of my real-life friends (I mean, I've met you), right? I epically fail at figuring out which one... Rui? I suspect. If not, sorry 'bout this. Yes, let's exchange short stories.

Okay, my New Years Resolution: I **will** write a chapter a month. Status: Failed, by 18 minutes. I'll keep at it.

Thank you everyone for reading and/or reviewing!

Next Chapter is called_ Bon Voyage_.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 31: Power Exchange

"_Are you ready?"_

_Above the clouds, a boy and his father rode atop a tireless Charizard. The father peered over his shoulder at his son, awaiting a response. He swatted his black wind-whipped hair out of his eyes._

_The boy stared ahead, following the Charizard's gaze. The hood of the boy's dark cloak flapped to the beat of the Charizard's wings._

"_Answer me," the father demanded._

_The boy smiled slightly, as if he was enjoying a pleasant view despite the fact that it was cloudy and nearing dusk._

_The father closed his eyes slightly and turned his head back into the wind. His Charizard began to descend. Behind the father, the son clenched his fists in order to physically stop himself from shivering._

"_Tal can track Mew up to about a hundred yards without the assistance of the other twenty-some Team Glop'emm psychic Pokemon we've been using to track Mew at a distance," the father explained. "Tal's going to need to direct all of his power into tracing Mew's energy. Charizard, here, will be prepared to take off after Mew at a moment's notice. All we have to do is attack and beat down the pink twit. Are you ready?"_

"_Father," the boy said quietly. He spoke just loud enough to be heard over the wind. "This is our eleventh operation and third occasion we have pursued Mew's psychic imprint to the northeast area of Mint Mountain. You have meticulously explained the plan each journey. I am well prepared to find and shut down yet another spoon-bending Abra support group. You have even prepared me for the distinct possibility of a telekinetic toilet-cleansing Slowbro operation—"_

"_I didn't ask for mockery. Are you ready?" the father interrupted. The Charizard slowed the beat of its wings and clumsily landed a third of the way up a large rocky slope. The boy easily slid down one of the Charizard's wings, landing lightly on a crooked boulder. The father followed less gracefully. "We will both attack Mew at once. Have you prepared your Pokemon?"_

_The boy remained expressionless as he stated, "I did not bring my Pokemon." Only a slight tilt of the boy's head away from his father revealed that the boy might be fighting a smirk._

"_Then you'll use one of mine," the father said, climbing across several stones and dropping out of sight behind them._

_The boy frowned. This was not the reaction he had wanted. After carefully maneuvering his body around the mountainside's crackling crevices, the boy arrived beside his father in front of a large cavern. The father had already released both Tal and his Houndoom from their Pokeballs. The Houndoom watched the cavern's entrance with ears pointed forward and legs tense, prepared for action._

"_Tal and Charizard will wait here," the father said. He held a Pokeball out to his son. "Most of my Pokemon would not willingly submit to your command in battle. They are too powerful."_

"_They consider themselves more knowledgeable and experienced than me in battle," the boy corrected. He glared at the Pokeball. "I won't battle."_

"_You don't have a choice."_

"_Yes, I do."_

_The father sighed. "Why are you choosing now of all times to be rebellious?"_

_The son crossed his arms._

"_I hate it when you do this—hide your real emotions behind an empty smile, try to get me to lose my temper. I know your game."_

"_You taught me well."_

"_This is not the time or place. Just take the Pokeball." The father held the Pokeball towards his son._

_The son did not respond._

_The father shrugged and took a step back. "Well, I have to command Houndoom. I'm going to release her and tell her to do her best, but if no one gives her orders—" The father shrugged again. "—she might end up like the Eevee she replaced, with her insides spread about the cave."_

_The boy stood still, his eyes widening in appall. The boy quickly recovered his emotional slip, rearranging his expression to look bored._

"_What, did something I say get to you?"_

"_It's not something to joke about," the boy said quietly. "You just… replaced… the Eevee with another from Team Glop'emm's collection and nobody noticed. Darcleye explains his Umbreon's hatred for the new Eevee as mother-daughter rivalry. And you act so casually towards the situation, like the baby Eevee guts on your desk were your office's typical decorum, like… like it doesn't matter."_

"_It doesn't matter," the father said. "The Eevee is dead. I did what was necessary. Now there's this one." He pressed the release button on the Pokeball in his hand. "We have a job to do."_

_The boy watched the Eevee materialize. He allowed himself one glowering look at the Pokemon before silently following his father and his father's Houndoom. The Eevee ignored the boy, choosing to trot ahead beside the Houndoom._

_The cave was dank and smelled of molded fruit. Waving a flashlight along the ground, the boy spotted Cornn berry peels among the cracks. If the boy had not been had perfect vision in the dark, everything would have appeared brown and shadowy, as the only sources of light came from Charizard's tail at the cave entrance and the two flashlights carried by the father and son._

_The boy had taken less than twenty steps into the cave when a pair of purple glowing eyes appeared directly in front of the group. Immediately, the father yelled out, "Crunch!" and his Houndoom lunged._

_The boy pointed his flashlight at the purple eyes, lighting up a floating pink body attached to the creature. Mew somehow looked different than the boy remembered. Maybe it was bigger._

_Mew dodged the crunch attack and then stared at the father for a moment. The boy suspected that Mew was trying to use psychic on his father and was failing because of his father's dark twined shirt. Mew created a psychic barrier to protect itself from Houndoom's flames._

_Houndoom lunged again, and again, Mew floated out of reach. "Help me!" the father called, chancing a glance at his son. The boy crossed his arms and sat down on a stone._

_Mew's fist lit up and connected with the Houndoom's stomach the next time the Houndoom attempted a Crunch attack. The Houndoom crashed against the wall, but shakily rose. "Dark pulse," the father commanded. A dark stream of energy from the Houndoom's mouth went through Mew's protective barrier and hit Mew's side. Mew retreated slightly._

_In the midst of the fighting, the Eevee growled. She looked from the father's face back to the son's face, waiting and wishing for an order. When the boy smiled at her in a no-way-in-hell-am-I-going-to-tell-you-to-attack manner, the Eevee decided to take matters into her own hands by charging at Mew._

_The boy realized what would happen. He leapt off the rock towards the Eevee. Mew had already stopped the Eevee from charging. The Eevee floated in a purple aura, struggling against Mew's psychic. As Mew telekinetically flung the Eevee backwards at the sharp rocks along the cave walls, the Eevee let out a cry of pain._

_The boy pushed off hard against the ground and caught the Eevee, stopping the psychic propulsion and preventing the Eevee from further injury. The Eevee looked up at the boy's eyes and twitched her nose._

_Suddenly, the Eevee started to glow white. The boy had seen evolution before, but holding an evolving Pokemon—feeling the Eevee's body narrow and the fur grow shorter—was a completely different experience. It sent chills down his back._

_A few seconds later, the boy was holding an Umbreon. The boy's attention was brought back to the battle when a nearby rock exploded. The boy turned away from the explosion to prevent the rock shards from hitting Umbreon despite the cuts they created on his own shirt and skin._

_Houndoom released another stream of dark energy from his mouth, but this time, Mew countered the energy with an identical stream of energy from its own mouth. Stray spurts of energy exploded more rocks._

_The father's eyes widened as Mew's dark energy overpowered the Houndoom's. The explosion flipped Houndoom onto the father. The Umbreon struggled to get out of the boy's grasp, but the boy held tight, preventing the Pokemon from attacking. Mew raced out of the cave._

_The father scrambled out from under his Houndoom, scraping his hands against the rocks in the process. He ran out of the cave and jumped atop his Charizard. The boy walked slowly after him._

"_Go! Go, damn it! Why aren't you taking off?" the father yelled. Charizard pointed a claw at Tal and whipped his tail around impatiently. The boy could see that Tal was concentrating with all of his strength; the spoons he held bent in opposite directions. "Tal, what the hell is taking you so long!"_

"_Father, Tal will not be able to track Mew," the boy said. He climbed onto Charizard behind his father, taking care to not accidently crush the Umbreon in his arm._

"_I don't want to hear another word out of you—I ought to teach you a lesson—" _

"_You've taught enough lessons for today," the boy interrupted. "How do you think Mew got away?"_

_The father was silent. His leg trembled slightly._

"_You taught it how to use dark pulse. It can now emit dark energy and prevent any psychic Pokemon from tracking it."_

_The father's fists clenched and unclenched quickly. The father was motionless for a moment—then he nodded curtly and returned both Tal and the Umbreon to their respective Pokeballs._

_As Charizard flapped its wings and took a short running start, the boy commented, "It'll be a challenge tracking Mew now. Are _you_ ready?"_

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_I heard him before he approached. He was loud, and he was not alone._

_I swiveled my tail in anticipation. I could run… well, float. These big feet were no good at running… But the man would find me again—the man always followed. It was better that I faced him when I was prepared, at least according to my Mew predecessors._

_I was strong. I was legendary._

_I sensed his Pokemon. There was the Charizard and the Alakazam outside of the cave, preparing for if the man failed. The man's pessimism gave me a little confidence. _

_Approaching with the man was a young Eevee. Her mind was overwhelmed with curiosity and fear of the dark cave, strategies of previously fought battles, and a strange bitterness that reminded me of the unripe Cornn berries I ate for breakfast._

_Of course, I could assume the man's Houndoom approached as well, even though I could not sense it. _

_I tried to sense the man's thoughts, but failed. I knew the man was there—his Pokemon were thinking of him and interacting with him—but it was as if the man had gained the powers of a dark Pokemon. Perhaps the man was touching his Houndoom's fur._

_Suddenly, the man yelled, "Crunch!" _

_I was temporarily blinded by a bright light, but I floated upwards, hoping to dodge the Houndoom's attack anyway. I was lucky; the Houndoom missed. Next time I would have to be quicker, smarter—_

{Stronger, 868,013,} Father Mew demanded. I blinked. {How do you expect to continue the Mew lineage with this pathetic psychic? I know Abras that use their energy more efficiently.}

{Hear, that? You're pathetic,} Celebi taunted.

I sent another psychic blast at Father Mew. He created a barrier and sent it back at me. I dodged. {You're not even trying!} Father Mew yelled. {You cannot leave until you give this your all. Again!}

Again, I created a ball of psychic energy and sent it at Father Mew. What else could I do? Celebi giggled and casually flew backwards to sit on a giant boulder.

I was sick of this. It was useless—

—_to reach out my mind, feel the structure of every nook in the cave. I had planned on collapsing portions of the cave on the man—give him a concussion, maybe—but now I couldn't sense him. The only being I could sense in the cave was the Eevee. I squinted into the dark, trying to rely on my eyesight. I made a rock fall on what I thought was a silhouette—_

_Flames came at me. I put up a barrier. The brief light allowed me to glimpse the silhouette, which turned out to be an odd rock formation. I also saw the Houndoom begin to lunge, and I managed to dodge._

"_Help me!" the man called. I noticed two dim beams of light, but kept my focus on the Houndoom. The next time the Houndoom lunged, I punched the Pokemon in the stomach hard, aiming to throw the dog where I suspected the beams of light were coming from. The man either moved or I missed—Houndoom hit the rocks. I focused on the rocks; they trembled._

"_Dark pulse!" the man yelled. A beam of energy hit my side, and I recoiled at the pain. The Houndoom fired another beam, forcing me to dodge._

_Suddenly, I saw a white fur ball running at me. The Eevee had finally decided to take some action. Maybe if I telekinetically held the Eevee in front of me the man would stop attacking… Then again, what if he didn't care? He'd already proven himself ruthless._

_I stopped the Eevee with my mind, wincing when another dark pulse hit my tail. I could test the man—move the Eevee out of the way if it was about to be attacked—_

_And then the Eevee was gone. I couldn't sense her. There was a bright light—_

_Searing pain ran through my stomach. Blistering bubbles nipped at my arms, tail, back. The Houndoom stood over me baring his teeth, resembling a beloved pet of the grim reaper._

_It was then that I decided Houn_doom_ was a fitting name. Very—_

Fine. If he wanted me to give it my all…

My stubby arms began to extend, my snout narrowed and elongated, my tail shrunk—and then my transformation was suddenly halted. Something was preventing me from taking shape of a Houndoom. For a millisecond, I panicked, believing I might be stuck in midmorph. I returned to my Mew form wary, but slightly relieved.

Father Mew made a "Tsk" noise with his throat. {Can't have you using any of those flashy tricks. This is a test of your psychic prowess.} It occurred to me that he had just used his psychic to prevent me from transforming. It also quickly became apparent that he continued to hold my body rigidly against the ground with his mind as I struggled to move my limbs. Between the Mew's paws gathered psychic energy. The energy ball flew at me and—

—_exploded a rock above the Houndoom, causing the Houndoom to misfire dark energy into the cavern wall I lay against. A hole in the wall sizzled. If only my energy could do that…_

_I watched the Houndoom prepare to fire another dark pulse by taking a guttural breath. It didn't look hard—Pokemon always had a way of making attacks look easy. I watched the energy leave the Houndoom's mouth. Instinctively, I took a breath._

_I opened my eyes and found a strange beam of dark energy leaving my mouth. It deflected the Houndoom's energy beam slightly and exploded a rock._

_I could use dark pulse. Whoa. I could learn that attack?_

As Father Mew threw the energy at my helpless body, I grinned. I had picked up a few _tricks_ from my murderous stalker through my early years. I widened my mouth, sending a dark pulse at the oncoming energy ball. The pulse easily split the ball into two harmless blobs and continued forward to strike Father Mew in his chest. {You're the one who told me to give it my all,} I said.

I flew forward, transforming as I flipped through the air. Long ears. Soft paws. Snow-tipped, fluffy tail—a thick tail growing brighter and stronger.

A tail perfect for striking down a neurotic, pig-headed elder Mew.

Father Mew fell to the ground and I gently landed beside him. I stretched my legs and shook out my body, smiling. I had missed this body. "Eevee," I growled, just to hear my voice. I turned to Celebi. {Take me back,} I insisted.

{Before or after Anita is sent to an asylum?}

{Take me back to the moment I left,} I demanded.

{It'll cost you.} Celebi fluttered off of the boulder to the fallen Mew.

{Take whatever.}

Celebi patted Father Mew's head. {What's left of this poor fellow's power and all of yours.} Celebi smiled sweetly and looked at me with wide blue eyes.

I did not hesitate. {Fine.}

Celebi closed her eyes. A misty light floated from Father Mew's body to Celebi's fingertips. Celebi then turned to me. I suddenly felt weak and slightly nauseous. My eyesight blurred.

_As I fired another dark beam, more accurate this time, I thought of the implications. What if I could use this newfound attack to hide my strong psychic? I wouldn't have to fight this man—he wouldn't be able to find me!_

_I heard an "Oof," and I blinked—the Houndoom must have been pushed onto his master._

_{Sayanara!} I yelled gleefully as I sped out of the cave._

_For the first time since my birth, I felt free._

A smirking green angel floated toward me and dug small fingers into my fur. The world spun and my body was painfully compressed—

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I opened my eyes, only to feel a sharp painful sting. I managed to glimpse blue before tightly shutting my eyes. My limbs thrashed wildly, but seemed to move slowly.

When I opened my mouth to yelp, salty water rushed in. Panicked, I attempted to give myself a psychic boost out of the water. Only when my attempt failed did I remember that I currently lacked power. I struggled and somehow managed to break the surface.

As I gulped as much air as my lungs would allow, Celebi flew in front of me.

{We had a deal,} I thought.

Celebi giggled. {But placing you at this moment is so much more painful for you, so much more fun for me, and perplexes several others. Ta ta!} Celebi disappeared in a flash of green.

Freedom is overrated.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Why'd Anita just run off?" I asked nobody in particular. I thought Anita would celebrate or collapse in exhaustion after the battle. Instead she had dramatically said, _"She's here,"_ and ran out of the room. Maybe she had finally lost her mind.

Sparky shrugged and bent over to feed his Jolteon a revive. "Probably wanted to make a grand exit. I would have had sparklers, but to each his own."

"Um," Mel started. He looked at me with wide eyes. "Erin, that's exactly what happened in the dream I gave Anita."

"Anita ran off?"

"No… yes… no. She didn't run off because I didn't get to that part. Anita just got her badge and the dust and then had a feeling that Apple was alive… or at least that's what happened in the dream I gave her… but this was just like that. The bag of dust wiggled just the same way…"

"Whoa, wait. What happened was the _exactly_ the same as the vision you gave Anita?" I asked.

Mel nodded.

The room was silent. I nervously laughed. "So, you want to give me a vision next time?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I felt her. Just like in my vision. I stood outside Sparky's gym and looked out toward the ocean, where I felt Apple's presence. The sun was starting to set, and the water was rough. I couldn't see Apple with my eyes.

I sent out my mind. {APPLE!}

There was no response. A flicker of familiarity appeared in my mind, not two hundred meters away from the cliff's edge.

I jumped off the cliff, creating a slanted psychic barrier below me. I elongated the barrier as I slid down, allowing it to fade away behind me. My head felt like it was being ripped in two from the exertion. I had to reach Apple. That was all that mattered.

"What the…" I hear Erin call from the cliff edge. She must have followed me out of the gym. "What the hell is she doing? Anita!"

It was definitely Apple I felt. A hundred meters to go. I thought I saw a brown speck in the vast blue waves. {Apple?}

"Anita, I wanna slide, too!" Mel yelled.

My insides seemed to tighten. Why couldn't I see Apple? She had to be all right. She was alive. I felt her. Fifty meters to go.

Faintly, I heard, {A…Anita?}

{APPLE!} I leaned back on my psychic slide to gain more speed. Apple was alive! Apple was alive. I ignored the questions of her disappearance attempting to push themselves into my brain. I didn't care. As long as Apple was alive and okay and—

My body immediately tensed up as my skin came in contact with the freezing water. I kept my eyes shut and held my breath underwater while kicking towards where I sensed Apple. My hands came in contact with something wet and soft, but not slimy like seaweed. I kicked upwards until I surfaced above the water.

"Apple!" I gasped, opening my eyes. My hand was in Apple's fur. Apple was visibly shaking from the cold and struggling to keep her head above the surface. I pulled her to my chest and tightened my arms around her, silently willing her to never leave me again.

I didn't know what to say so I pushed my overwhelming emotions at her, and dove into her mind. Her mind was faint—it felt like there was something in her mind that I should be seeing but was fading away. {Anita… glad… see you… but too… much.}

I pulled out of her mind immediately. The wet Eevee looked nearly unconscious. I had to get her to the Pokemon Center. I made a barrier with my mind and clambered on to it, my fingers barely sticking enough to allow me to pull Apple and myself up.

I had rested only a moment when the barrier failed and we fell through to the water. I was suddenly very angry with myself. I could do this. I was strong enough. I _had_ to be strong enough. I created another barrier, but this time I didn't even make it on to the barrier before it disappeared.

_Focus, Anita._ I tried to forget that I was holding Apple and that Apple's mind was barely audible and that I hadn't had a proper conversation with Apple…

"Wooper!" A Wooper appeared in front of me.

"Anita, grab on!" Erin yelled from above me. I grabbed the Pokemon's foot, doubtful that Wella would have the strength to pull me.

I was proven wrong when my arm was suddenly strained from Wella's acceleration. I tightened my grip around Apple and turned my head so I wouldn't swallow salt water. I felt Apple's exhaustion and began to feel fatigued myself. The waves appeared to melt into the darkening sky as my eyes unfocused.

My consciousness was pulled from my body.

_It was dark. I looked down, but was unsurprised when I didn't see a body._

_{Stop trying to force yourself into my mind.} Apple's voice echoed around me. I couldn't see her. {Anita, trust me on this: leave.}_

_{I'm not trying to get into your mind,} I replied. {I'm just happy to see you.}_

_{Please, leave,} Apple said._

_{I don't know how.} Blue light crackled briefly across the darkness. Despite my lack of a body, there seemed to be a strange unstable weightlessness about me, like I might fall at any moment._

_{I can't hold you back much longer,} Apple replied. {I'm not supposed to tell. Please don't make me tell. Please.}_

_{Tell what?}_

_Suddenly, the darkness shattered. I was in a valley of green grass, lightly sprinkled with blooming cherry trees. I had a body again and could feel the small breeze against my ankles and through my loosely fitting clothing. The cherry trees barely cast shadows, as it was midday. I stood on a slope. Up the slope, to my left, I was shocked to see a large group of Celebi murmuring amongst themselves in a large huddle. _

_I turned my gaze to my right. In the center of the valley, there were several Mews lined up in straight rows facing me. In front of each Mew was a large boulder. The only exception was one Mew that floated between me and the rows of Mews, facing them._

_The boulderless Mew raised a hand. The boulders all rose. Each Mew was completely focused on the telekinetically floating boulder in front of them._

_{What is this?} I asked. {Apple?}_

_{The one in the third row, second from the end is me,} Apple replied. A Mew appeared next to me._

_{Apple?}_

_The Mew nodded and its tail floated limply to the ground. I threw my arms around the Mew for a moment and then took a step back._

_{What's going on? Where is this? Where am I?}_

_Apple looked at me with resignation. {You were never supposed to see this.} She waved a three-fingered hand towards the Mews that continued to concentrate on their boulders. {It's our most tightly guarded secret. Any person knowing puts us all in serious danger.}_

_I felt betrayed. I didn't keep anything from Apple. I thought she hadn't kept anything from me. _

_{Anita! It's not like that… It's…} Apple blinked her eyes slowly. {I'm going to explain everything. You've already seen too much anyway… Arceus help me if this gets either of us killed.} Apple floated down to the ground, wrapping her tail in a circle around her. I sat down next to her. {You already know that every five thousand years I— a Mew— bursts into flames, releasing excess psychic energy, and a new Mew is reborn from the Father Mew's ashes._

_{But that's not the only way to force my kind into the rebirth fire stage. Basically, anything that should cause us to die forces us into rebirth. Because of our strong healing ability, we rarely even approach this point. You can stab us, beat us up, cut us up, and we'll still heal.} Apple shuttered. {Like when you found me. I was so weak, but I couldn't die._

_{In the past, there's only been two ways Mews have been forced into rebirth before they reached five thousand years old. Decapitation is one. That only happened once, though. Generally, we can psychically stop whatever's about to cause the decapitation. The other method is being stabbed through the head with something imbued with the dark type—an object or part of a Pokemon. We are unable to heal that type of wound to the brain._

_{In order to stay alive—not burst into flames—we need training to protect ourselves. When first born, there is nobody to teach us how to fight. Our lifecycle makes it so there is only one Mew in the world.} Apple turned her head around to look at the group of Celebi behind her. {So to learn, we have to time travel.}_

_The scene presented before me suddenly made much more sense. {Celebi take you back in time to learn from previous Mews.}_

_{_The _Celebi. There's only one.} Apple nodded to the group of Celebi. {She's just from multiple time periods. Yes, she takes us back in time, once to learn the basics in a group like this, and once to learn more advanced techniques—} The scene suddenly changed. There were two Mews bouncing into each other over and over again in the air above a grass field, each surrounded by a purple psychic bubble. A Celebi sat nearby on a ledge, cleaning her wings. {like this. We each have a one-on-one battling session with our predecessor—our Father Mew. The Father Mew isn't supposed to let us leave until we have fully mastered our powers.}_

_{So what's with all the secrecy?}_

_{Obviously, knowing what makes a Mew go into the rebirth stage is dangerous information for me and anyone who wants to cause the type of destruction rebirth creates.}_

_{But I would never—}_

_{There are ways of extracting information from you, Anita. Torture, hypnosis, ghosts, and strong psychics. But it's more than that. See, we are entirely dependent on Celebi.}_

_{So?} I picked at the grass and thought it was odd that I could actually feel the thin blades between my fingers._

_Apple looked at the sky. {It's a little known fact that Celebi can generate less psychic power than a Drowsee. Mew, on the other hand, can generate about a hundred thousand times more psychic energy than the typical Alakazam.} There was an explosion in the sky as the two Mews fired blasts of psychic energy at each other. Apple continued, {Time traveling takes a lot of power. We need to time travel and we can supply the psychic power, but only Celebi has the ability to use psychic power to time travel. We have a pact with Celebi—we give Celebi power in exchange for time travel.}_

_{Again, I ask, so?}_

_{So, Celebi is kind of resentful towards my kind because she can't time travel without us. Typically, when she takes our power we provide enough energy for about one and a half time travels. Thus, when she takes one of us back in time to meet our predecessor and then forward in time to return to the present, she gains enough power for about one time travel. We only go back in time to train twice in our lives, which basically means that Celebi only gets one full time travel—there and back—other than taking us back for training, every five thousand years._

_{Celebi resents us because we limit her power. But seriously, what other choice do we have? I sure don't want some little green fairy messing with the time stream every two minutes. Anyway, the rest of the world perceives Celebi as this little all-powerful legendary Pokemon, and Celebi doesn't change this perception because it wouldn't be beneficial for her survival. My kind can't let anyone know that Celebi depends on our power because someone might try to find a way to provide Celebi with that power without using Mew as a source. You even knowing about our agreement with Celebi is a risk to the agreement.}_

_I was annoyed. {You didn't have to tell me all of that.} I sure hadn't asked her to. {You could have just left it at the pact with Celebi thing.}_

_{Anita, if you're going to know something, I'd rather you know the full story—not just pieces. If you only knew pieces, you'd likely go looking for answers elsewhere and reveal pieces to other people who might be able to piece together the big picture better than you can.}_

_{Okay, okay. But you know I won't tell anyone.}_

_{Not intentionally.}_

_I ignored Apple's comment. {So you disappeared because you went back in time to learn from your Father Mew, right? Why didn't Celebi just bring you back to the exact time you disappeared?}_

_{Celebi and I don't exactly get along. At all. She's a bit of a manipulative bitch. She knows my kind will still supply power for her, even if she brings us back a little late.}_

_{Why can't you just transform into Celebi and use your own power for time travel?}_

_{Oh, I can. Most Mews aren't like me—they actually develop the ability to transform much later in their life, not until after a hundred years or so. Thus, Celebi is necessary for most young Mews needing training from our predecessors.}_

_{But why didn't you in particular transform and come back to the right time after your training?} I asked._

_Apple's tail twitched. She watched her memory-Celebi flap towards the sky, performing flips and corkscrews through the air. {Something Celebi told me. That I was being tracked. That if I transformed, someone who was looking for me would find me.}_

_{She could have been lying.}_

_{No, duh. But even so… she might not be. And that would be a big risk for a couple of missed days.}_

_{Well, we'll look into it. Apple, I missed you so much. I had a vision about you returning. It came true.} I showed Apple the vision._

_Apple frowned. {Very strange. I… I think Celebi did that purposefully. I think where and when she took me was based off of your vision. Maybe...}_

_{I'm just glad you're back,} I said, wrapping an arm around Apple's pink shoulder._

_Apple leaned into me. {Me, too.}_

_The scene began to fade away into darkness, but my mind mingled with Apple's for much longer, simply enjoying her existence._


	35. Bon Voyage

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hello, my apologies for the lateness (although it was a short month...). Anywho, to clarify, Apple's powers are not gone forever- what happened to Apple (powers getting taken) at some point happens to every Mew b/c they train by going back in time, Celebi takes them back in time, and Celebi needs this power to time travel. So sorry if that was not clear.

ChaosAngel4us- Yup, I'm glad Apple's back, too! See above explanation.

sloganlogan- See above explanation! Sorry! _

obsessed-beyond-reason2001- I HATE chemistry... so sorry you have to deal with that.

Thanks guys for reviewing! And thanks to all my readers! You all keep me writing!

Alright guys, kinda short chapter, sorry, but its necessary. I'm going to start doing this _Previously in An Apple A Day_ thing because I know I don't update often, and it can get confusing. This one's long but others shouldn't be. So, here we go...

_Previously in An Apple A Day_

Anita Parkwood's set out on a journey with Apple, a Mew transformed into an Eevee for hiding purposes, in Acceber. Anita is gifted with psychic powers, which Apple has been teaching her to use. She's collected threebadges thus far and is traveling with Erin, an ex-research assistant; Mel, a boy with a ghost gift; and Liam, who is also a supposed research assistant.

Unbeknownst to Anita, the Master of Team Glop'emm/Gym Leader of Drape Town is attempting to find and destroy Mew. The Master (Master Mendol) had a horrific childhood in which most of his life was destroyed by legendary Pokemon, which has caused him to hunt down legendary Pokemon. The Master sent his relative-Liam Mendol-as a detective to watch Anita, because he suspects her to be Mew while the Master researches how to destroy Mew. The gym leaders are currently keeping an eye out for the Master, as they suspect him to be the leader of Team Glop'emm-though they have no evidence.

Team Glop'emm is currently developing a device that will be able to untransform Mew, the research for which is lead by Rita Teal, Team Glop'emm's head researcher. The Master left Jamie Arkle in charge, though Jamie appears to have intentions that differ from the Master's and plans to take over Team Glop'emm. Jamie has momentarily left Team Glop'emm (leaving Rita in charge) to find out more about the Master in order to destroy/find him. Jamie recently visited with the ex-gym leader of Drape Town where he found that the Master and his father previously lived in Vintage Village. Jamie travels places usually by riding his Togekiss.

A kind of side note: In her research to create a device that untransforms Mew, Rita has been working with several Dittos, one of which (Sticky) has been able to transform into a girl she thought of, not one the Ditto has seen. Sticky has also been fairly successful in learning English (this is evidence that Anita could be Mew).

ANYWAY, in the meantime, before Anita's gym battle with Sparky Storm, Apple disappeared. It turns out that because there can only exist one Mew at a time (every 5,000 years, Mew explodes and a new Mew is born from the ashes of the old), Mew and Celebi have the following deal: usually twice in Mew's life, Celebi will bring Mew back in time to train with older Mews. The first time is to learn psychic basics with a whole group of Mews from other time periods. The second time is more advanced one-on-one training. Celebi, however, lacks the power needed for time travel so takes Mew's powers. Thus, Mew provides the power to time travel (plus a little more so Celebi can time travel once or twice without Mew) and Celebi brings Mew back in time. All of this happened to Apple at an unfortunate time. Anita freaked out and her psychic powers got out of control. Now, however, Apple's back in the right time period so all should be well... right?

Next time I'll summarize all of the Master's flashbacks as it is more vital to the next chapter.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 32: Bon Voyage

"Do you think she'll be mad when we tell her we've spent all the money she won from Sparky?"

"Who cares?"

"I care! I don't want to be psychically blown to munchable Erin bits!"

"Liam, Erin, look! She's waking up!"

My head throbbed as I opened my eyes. There was something heavy on my stomach. I looked down and smiled when I saw Apple, curled up and sleeping on top of me.

"Anita! How do you feel?" Erin asked. I looked around the room. I was lying in the bed of a typical Pokemon Center guest room, with plain walls, a wooden door, and a small window. Erin, Liam, and Mel sat on a twin bed across the room, facing me. "My mom put you in this room when we brought you here yesterday. She said all you and Apple needed was rest," Erin explained.

I nodded and when I sat up, carefully moving Apple to my lap, I noticed I was wearing baggy hospital clothing. "I have a headache, but I think I'm okay."

"You looked really bad yesterday. When Wella and Griffy got you and Apple back to the top of the cliff, I thought you weren't breathing."

"Well, I'm fine," I said. Erin frowned at me. I reached my mind out to see what she was thinking—and found I couldn't. Liam's hand was a bit neat Erin's, but they weren't touching. I tried again. Nothing. I tried to sense my surroundings, but failed to perform even such a simple psychic task. Maybe I wasn't fine.

"So what happened to Apple?" Liam asked bluntly.

"Liam!" Erin slapped his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Liam said sarcastically. "I'd like to know the reason behind all the unpleasantness I've recently experienced, including—but not limited to—being blamed for Apple's disappearance, being attacked by you, and my shrinkers being destroyed."

I took a breath and spoke the story I'd started preparing yesterday. "Apple used dig in the underground room Sparky had put my Pokemon in, and some of the dark material that prevented me from sensing the room got stuck to Apple's back paw. Apparently, she didn't notice the material until yesterday. Anyway, she fell into a cavern half-filled with water. She tried to dig her way out, but she stopped when parts of the cavern started to collapse from her digging—the cave was already eroding from the water. Then the cave started to flood. She was hungry and wanted to get out so she took a chance and swam out of the cave. She felt something dragging her back paw and finally realized why I hadn't found her…"

Erin gazed at Apple. "Poor thing."

"Why didn't your other Eevees know what had happened to her? They were all in the same room, right?" Liam asked.

Shit. Leave it to Liam to find a hole in my story. "Vanilla and Splash were in their Pokeballs," I lied. Hopefully, he wouldn't check with Sparky.

"Um, yeah. So my mom said you'd be better by tomorrow," Erin said, nervously tugging at the bottom of her white blouse.

"We've already determined that I'm fine." I concentrated on Erin, willing my mind into hers. Why wouldn't she spit out whatever she wanted to say? And why couldn't I read her mind?

"So now that you're done with the gym, we thought we'd leave tomorrow."

"Ok." I looked at Erin expectantly.

Mel turned his head from Erin to Liam. Erin was biting her lip. Liam looked bored. Mel threw his hands up and waved them at Erin and Liam. "You have NO idea what I've had to deal with without you!" Mel said. "These people are so stupid! What they're trying to say is that they used all the money you won from Sparky to buy ship tickets and a suitcase for Liam's stuff, and later today as long as you're okay we're all taking the ship to Vintage Village."

"Oh."

"Anita, I'm so sorry. We wouldn't have done it, but we thought you'd want to leave and the ship tickets were going fast. And then Liam was insisting on new shrinkers only they were all too expensive—"

"Erin, its okay. That makes sense."

Erin stared at me for a second and then let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Of course. I mean, I wasn't expecting otherwise." She glanced at the door. "I'm… I'm just going to go tell my mom you're awake." Erin quickly left the room, leaving the door not fully closed behind her.

"What's with her?"

"I think she was expecting you to explode at her," Mel said. "You've been kinda… uptight… lately."

"Apple was missing."

Liam let out a dismissive sniff.

"What?"

Liam sat down in a waiting room chair, folding his arms. "You say that like it's an excuse."

"But—"

"I'm not saying what happened to you and Apple wasn't bad, but you really wreaked havoc on the rest of us. You cannot expect everything, especially how we treat you, to go back to the way it was before."

There was a knock on the door. Because the door wasn't fully closed, it opened. Zach was standing in the doorway. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I just wanted to let you know Mrs. Ken—I mean, Nurse Joy will be with you in a minute." He stepped inside the room and started writing on a clipboard. "So, Liam, did you and Erin have a falling out or something?"

Liam and I exchanged looks of what-the-hell-is-this-kid-doing. I coughed to cover up a laugh.

"It's not your business. Weren't you leaving?" Liam said rudely.

Zach shook his head. "Nope, I've got to run through some preliminary checks."

"Like Erin's dating status," I commented.

Zach tilted his head downward towards the clipboard as he wrote, attempting to hide a blush. "It's a check," he muttered. Then louder, he said, "So, Anita, how do you feel? Any trouble breathing? Light-headedness? Headaches?"

"Headache."

"Anything else bothering you?"

"Well, I can't use my psychic powers."

Zach looked up from his clipboard and stared at me.

"She's kidding," Liam said hastily.

Zach looked at me for a confirmation. I rolled my eyes. "Lacking a sense of humor much?"

I swear I heard Zach mutter, "Possibly delusional" as he scribbled on his clipboard.

/ / / / / / / / / /

"Ugh, there's nothing in this book about why I can't use my powers," I said angrily, practically tearing the pages out of The Gift as I flipped through the book.

"Stop it, Anita. You'll wake Apple," Erin snapped. When I looked up to glare at her though, she was looking out over the metal railing at the ship we were waiting to board. It was a relatively small ship, maybe only half the size of a Wailord and its side read "S.S. Bezzle." The ship had three decks, staggered on top of each other at the front of the ship. Already, I could see passengers shuffling about the decks, waving to family and friends or pointing into the distance.

I glanced at Erin and then down at Apple, who was sleeping in a basket that hung from my arm. I hadn't had a proper conversation with Erin since I'd woken up yesterday. She hadn't returned to the room after fetching Mrs. Kendle, and this morning our walk to the peir had been eerily quiet. Only Mel attempted conversation, trying to ease the mood with pathetic jokes, like "Where do ghosts buy their food? At the ghost-ery store!"

At some point, I knew I'd have to confront Erin. Apple's health, however, seemed to be a more pressing issue. She had woken up a few times to eat, and had once nodded at me encouragingly, but for the most part, Apple continued to sleep. Mrs. Kendle had said she'd need anywhere from twelve to forty-eight hours to recover, but what could she know? Mrs. Kendle didn't know that Apple had been dragged back in time and had her psychic energy sucked up by a nasty Celebi.

Worst of all, I couldn't get into Apple's mind. I had tried when she was awake and asleep. It was almost like there was a dark band tied somewhere to my body that I couldn't find. Believe me, I checked—you never know with Liam.

"You'll need to deposit your Pokeballs here," a security man said. We had reached the entrance at the top of all the winding aluminum ramps. He handed out individual cloth pouches to Liam, Erin, Mel, and me. "You'll be given an ID tag that matches the bag's number so you may retrieve your Pokemon at the end of the ride." The man looked at me. "Excuse me, Ma'am. No Pokemon allowed outside their Pokeballs. You'll have to return the Eevee to a Pokeball to deposit it." I looked at Apple, still fast asleep in the basket. She didn't even have a Pokeball.

"She's sick," I said, tucking my book under my arm.

The security man adjusted his black cap and uniform, standing up straighter. "Well, I'm sorry Ma'am, but we have rules. You'll have to return your Pokemon to its Pokeball."

"I don't have any Pokeballs," Liam said. He flashed his ticket and walked aboard the ship. The security man nodded to a Medicham I noticed standing inside. The Medicham nodded back.

"Please enjoy the ride," the security man said. Liam was such a fudgecicle. He had to still have his Pokeballs, but his dark gift must have prevented the Medicham from sensing them. Why couldn't he have held onto all of ours, too?

I looked at Erin pleadingly but she shrugged and gave me a "what am I supposed to do about it?" look. She and Mel put their Pokeballs in pouches.

"Ma'am, there are other people waiting to board," the security guard.

What was I supposed to do without a—oh! "You guys go ahead without me," I said. People moved out of my way as I ran down the ramp. I searched the ground and spotted the small closed-off concrete area being used to store the luggage that was to be brought aboard the ship. All of the bags had magenta tags. I quickly spotted Liam's small, navy blue roll-on.

I looked around, making sure no officer was watching. Hopefully, any passengers watching me would assume I had forgotten something in my suitcase. I ducked under the security line and waded through the bags until I reached Liam's. I pulled the bag near the water and glanced up toward the ramp. The security man was still occupied with checking in passengers.

I unzipped the bag and hesitated by the water edge. Liam would be furious. Oh, well. He had ditched us at the front of the line anyway. I dumped Liam's stuff into the water, watching his polo shirts and jeans bob on the ocean's surface, dispersing. Carefully, I took Apple out of the basket and placed her in the suitcase. I prayed she wouldn't wake up.

They probably psychically checked the suitcases for Pokeballs, I decided. I wasn't sure if they'd check for Pokemon, but they wouldn't toss Apple off the ship or leave her behind if they found her in a suitcase. The shipline could be sued for something like that.

Smiling, I zipped up the suitcase and made my way back to the line to get aboard.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_A short, hooded figure slowly opened the Master's office door. "Father?"_

"_What do you—oh, it's you," a larger, hooded man answered. "Tell whoever the challenger is that I'm busy. Or better yet, tell the challenger I won't battle him unless he beats you. Give you some good practice and teach these nobodies to think twice before challenging the gym. Ever since Darcleye stepped down last week, challengers keep coming… thinking they can beat down the new guy. We'll show—" _

"_Father, this is about the research."_

"_What research?"_

"_You know, about perfecting twining."_

_The father stared at the framed scripture on the wall._

"_You're not even listening. I suspect I've found a way to prolong twining effects using stun spore and the absorbing part of solar beam you'd rather stare at the wall!"_

_The father suddenly rose from his seat behind the wooden desk. "I'm leaving. I've got to go to Zahavah."_

"_Are you even going to acknowledge me!" the boy yelled. He took a breath. Then quieter, he said, "You were just gone. You've told me a leader must be present as much as possible."_

"_I may be a leader in title and occupation, but it's not my goal—it's just a means. I'm putting you in charge of the gym this time. Can't have anyone winning again. Jamie'll still be in charge of Glop'emm."_

"_Can I come with you to Zahavah?"_

"_No. You're needed here." The father swiftly locked his desk and left the room, leaving the cloaked boy standing in the doorway. The boy knew his father was hiding something; his father was stressed and the boy no longer understood his actions. It was a long time before the boy left the office._

A clue. Maybe. My father had already been instated as a gym leader, and it would have been a week before the monthly gym leader meeting. So why would my father be going to Zahavah City?

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Vintage Village was the most useless town in Acceber, I'd decided. There was a small pier that could hold at most two ships, and otherwise was made up of small stone houses. The Pokemon Center was comprised of an old lady who'd dyed her hair pink living in one of these houses. The lady didn't even have a healing machine—she made her own medicines out of berries. The town had no Pokemart, no gym, and no city hall.

The lack of a city hall was particularly irksome. It'd taken me a whole day to locate the mayor because his little stone house was indistinguishable from the other four hundred. Porygon2 hadn't found anyone who went by the name of Mendol in the city's records located on a desktop computer in the mayor's study.

I kicked a stone into the street, wondering what Rita might be up to at this moment. I had to get back there—her in charge for to long could cause major damage my plans, perhaps even reverse all the efforts I'd gone through to win Team Glop'emm members' loyalty.

A Rattata scurried into a bush. Maybe I could do a survey—go door to door—interview anyone who might have known the Mendols. I stopped walking a moment, realizing I'd reached a dead-ended street. It would take too long—I needed information now, damn it.

In the center of the roundabout turnaround, there was a giant stone carved into the shape of a flame. I could make out names carved into the rock…

A memorial. Quickly, I pulled out a newspaper clipping I'd kept in my pack since I'd had it stolen from the Tinted Town museum. The clipping depicted a picture of a pile of ash in front of several burning wooden houses. A Mew's head popped out of the ash. The newspaper article was about whether or not the picture had been forged.

The article was dated November 3, 2005. I stepped closer to the memorial. The date scratched into the memorial's base was October 22 of the same year. Mendol had been tracking Mew for as long as I can remember.

Confidently, I swerved around. If Mew was about, Mendol had to be involved. When disaster struck Vintage Village, the police had to be involved as well. The police station was a block away, conveniently located in yet another small stone building. If both the police and Mendol were involved with the explosion, chances were the police still had records of it.

Shielding my eyes from the sun, I looked up at the police station. For a moment, I considered barging in with Hypno, Magnemite, and Porygon2. However, it was broad daylight and it was likely I could obtain the information I needed without my Pokemon's assistance. I pulled out a pen and a pad of paper from my bag and walked into the police station, trying to smile and look friendly.

The man sitting at the front desk was sleeping with his black boots atop his messy desk. Disgusting. This was a prime example of why the police had no right to run Acceber. "Excuse me, sir," I said.

Startled, the man awoke and nearly fell out of his chair. He sent papers flying as he dragged his feet off of the table, trying to appear composed. "What can I help you with?" the man asked in a gruff voice.

"I'm doing a report on the mysterious fire that occurred on October 22, 2005 and am looking for a few officers to give me complete accounts of what happened that day," I said.

The man turned his head and tilted back his chair, looking at the back few doors, which were all closed. "Looks like I'm the only one here… or awake," he mumbled. Louder, he said, "Well, I can give you my account. I was working here."

"Is there anyone else who was more involved I could interview?" I asked. No reason to waste my time talking to this moron.

"For your information, buddy, I was very involved. I was working right here, in fact, and when everyone else ran off to extinguish the fire, I was told to stay here and take care of anyone who stopped by."

Sticking my pen in a pocket, I fingered Hypno and Magnemite's Pokeballs.

"It was the strangest thing," the man said. "Some guy ran in here right after the fire started, telling me he wanted to take care of this little six-year-old girl in the middle of the crisis. I was like, I'm not a babysitter, and he told me he was going after who started the fire—"

I pulled the pen back out of my pocket. "Can you describe what this man looked like? What was his name?" Briefly, I imagined stabbing this babbling idiot in the eyes with my pen. If only he didn't have any information.

The officer scratched his slightly balding head. "Never did give me a name. The guy was wearing a long coat. Green eyes, black hair." Finally, a breakthrough. I smiled. I'd find out about the Mendol family soon enough. The officer continued, "The little girl was…" The man held his hand out three feet above the ground. "yea tall maybe."

"Are you sure it was a girl?" Maybe he was blind and stupid.

"Pardon?"

"Are you sure the kid with the man was a girl? What did she look like?"

The officer sounded offended. "Of coarse I know she was a girl. She had long black hair and dark eyes. Actually, she still lives in the town. Works at the local orphanage."

"There was no young boy?"

"Uh… no."

"Can I get this girl's name?"

The officer smiled sheepishly. "I don't remember." He was leaning back in his chair again, his belly sagging in front of him.

"Well why don't you _look it up for me_ then."

The man typed a few words into his desktop computer. "Lillian Smith."

"What is the orphanage address?"

"2278 Willow Road. I thought you were researching a fire, not some girl."

"Undoubtedly, she'll be able to provide a better account than you." I left the police station and released my Togekiss. I was not going to wander about these streets for hours searching for Willow Road. We found the orphanage quickly.

"Skampi—" In front of the orphanage, I was about to return my Togekiss. On second thought though, the Pokemon would likely make me appear more trustworthy, especially to a young girl. I had Skampi jump on my shoulder when I knocked on the door.

An elderly lady answered the door wearing makeup that flaunted her wrinkles, instead of hiding them. "Yes?"

"Hello, Ma'am. I'm doing a report on the 2005 fire, and I'd like to interview Lillian Smith. I've heard she works here." I bumped my shoulder to try to get Skampi from digging in with his claws.

The lady looked me up and down before calling, "Lily! Someone's here to see you." The lady opened the door wider. "Come in and have a seat. I'm Helen." She held out her hand.

"Jamie." I shook her hand, flashed her a smile, and gestured toward my shoulder. "This is Skampi."

Helen led me down a clean wood-floored hall to a kitchen that was only slightly larger than my office. I peered into other rooms but saw no signs of any little brats. The kitchen table took up the most room in the kitchen—there were about twenty seats. Helen pulled out a seat at the kitchen table for me so I sat down.

A tall girl with waist-length, shiny black hair walked into the room. She glanced at me and then at Helen. "Yes, Gran?"

"Dear, this gentleman is here to talk to you about the fire. He's doing some report," Helen said, pulling a pot out of a cupboard and placing it on the counter.

I held out my hand as the girl took a seat across from me. "Jamie," I said.

The girl eyed me suspiciously and kept her hands to herself. "Lily. My parents died in the fire," she said matter-of-factly.

I don't give a shit, I thought, matter-of-factly. Instead, I said, "I'm trying to find who started it." Lily watched Skampi for a moment. "Would you like to pet Skampi, my Togekiss?"

"No."

A little freckled boy walked into the kitchen. "Gran," he said, "Freddie's throwing up again." Helen sighed. She gave me a stern look before following the boy out of the kitchen.

"I appreciate you talking to me."

The girl crossed her arms but didn't answer.

"On the day of the fire, a man left you at the police station, correct?"

"Yes."

"Can you describe this man?"

Lily stood up, gripping the table. "Mr. Mendol did not start the fire! I was with him—"

"I don't think he started the fire, Lily."

Lily sat back down. "Then why are you investigating him?"

"I think he knows and went after who started the fire. A description now, please."

"Mr. Mendol was pretty tall and had black hair. His eyes were a really creepy bright green. I think he was in his late thirties, but I always suspected he looked a lot older than he actually was. He was a kind man; he used to take me and his son for ice cream."

Bingo. "Do you know what happened to Mr. Mendol?"

The girl shook her head. "Never saw him again after that day."

"Do you know where they came from?"

"Slateport City. They moved here because of the flood, I think, though they never said for sure."

I stood up. "Thank you, Lily."

"Wait! Can you… can you let me know if you find out what happened to them?"

Nosy girl. I forced a smile. "Sure," I lied. I didn't bother saying goodbye to Helen. I was off to find the next ship leaving for Slateport City.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Whisper, ice beam!" I ordered. Whisper opened her mouth and released a stream of ice that quickly took the shape of a cylindrical pillar. I walked up to the ice pillar and inspected it carefully, checking for any edges. I saw my silver hair and eyes in the ice reflection. I touched a finger to the iced. Perfectly smooth.

"Good work, Whisper," I told the Glaceon. She sat proudly at the ice pillar's base. I looked at the clock hanging from my gym wall. "Our challenger's late."

Suddenly, I noticed movement out the window. A kid with black hair ran behind a Pokemon Center. I'd seen that hair before. I knew every single person in Winsk City; the population was about a hundred. Nobody in the city, including the challenger who was staying at the Pokemon Center, had black spiky hair like that.

Quickly, I grabbed my ice skates, wool coat, and earmuffs. "Whisper, come on." I tied up my skates at the door and rushed outside, thankful for my gift as I froze the ground in front of me and skated forward. Whisper ran beside me through the snow. We followed the trail of footsteps behind the Pokemon Center.

The trail was short, ending abruptly on the other side of the Pokemon Center. Where could he have gone?

"Glace!"

I looked where Whisper pointed her nose. There was another set of prints in the snow leading nearly to where the boy's footprints disappeared. I looked closer at the prints. "Weavile footprints," I said. I noticed the Weavile footprints did not disappear, but turned around toward the direction they seemed to have been coming from in the first place.

"Whisper, follow these," I said. "I'll send out a search party and contact Tamara." Whisper nodded and leapt into action.

I looked across the snow bank to where the mountain cliff was. Softly, I said, "We're going to find you, Mendol."


	36. That Ship has Sailed

~ o ~ o ~ o

Hey, guys! Hope you all enjoyed April Fools day. :)

So my beloved editor has decided to turn the April Fools day prank into an actual website with character bios, the map of Acceber, and other fun things so you should check it out! It is:

sites(DOT)google(DOT)com/site/fieryapple/

Obviously, replace the (DOT)s with periods. I'd like to thank my editor x100000 for making that website. It's beautiful and awesome and amazing!

ChaosAngel4us- Yup, you get to see his reaction. And Anita's powers are currently a bit wacked... you'll have to read to discover more.

obsessed-beyondreason-2001- Glad you liked the prank. :) Thank my editor!

EpicKlauke5 - I think a fanfiction can be good no matter what the starters/main Pokemon/age of trainers as long as it has good character development and good (sensible) plot.

Ruth93 - Glad you like it so far? I think?

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers!

So, as I promised here is _Previously in An Apple A Day:_

_Previously in An Apple a Day_

After Anita beat Sparky, the gym leader of Cape Caution, Anita, Erin, Mel, and Liam boarded a ship to take them to Vintage Village. Both Anita and Apple are having issues using their psychic powers. Apple has recently had her powers temporarily drained by Celebi in exchange for taking Apple back in time to train. Because of her anger, Anita lost control of her psychic powers when Apple disappeared. Anita has calmed down since Apple was returned safely to her correct time period.

In the meantime, Team Glop'emm is preparing for the capture of Mew. They have a DNA tracking device that can sense where Mew is as long as Mew is not transformed. The Master (leader) of Team Glop'emm left to research how to destroy Mew. He put Rita Teal in charge of figuring out how to create a device to untransform Pokemon. She has yet to be successful. However, Rita has learned from her Ditto, Sticky, that Dittos can transform into a human the Ditto essentially made up and Dittos can learn English.

The Master left Jamie Arkle in charge of the rest of Team Glop'emm. Jamie has been planning to take over Team Glop'emm, but he needs to find the Master. To learn more about the Master and where he might be, Jamie has been retracing all the places the Master lived. He most recently stopped in Vintage Village and discovered from Lily Smith (a childhood friend of the Master's) that the Master was originally from Slateport City.

The Master's past:

The Master was born in Slateport City. He, his cousin, and their respective parents lived in Slateport City happily until Kyogre brought about a tsunami that swept over Slateport. The Master's mother and aunt drowned. His cousin went missing.

A year after the disaster, the Master and his father left Slateport and moved to Acceber to escape the horrible memories of the city and live somewhere lacking legendary Pokemon. The Master's uncle stayed in Slateport, still hopeful that he would one day find his son (the Master's cousin).

Now would be a good point to mention that every 5,000 years, Mew explodes and a new Mew is born from the former (referred to as Father) Mew's ashes.

Shortly after the Master and his father moved to Vintage Village in Acceber, Mew arrived and exploded, creating fires and killing several villagers. A new Mew (Apple) was born. The Master's father vowed to destroy Mew (and any legendary he ever came in contact with). The Master and his father chased Mew across Acceber, but never succeeded in capturing it, though there were close calls. Eventually, this traveling brought the Master and his father to Drape Town. The father became gym leader and Master of Team Glop'emm in order to gain resources to capture and destroy Mew...

Later the father's right hand man, Jamie Arkle, killed the father in an attempt to become Master of Team Glop'emm. This plan backfired- the father did not trust Jamie as much as Jamie believed and his son became Master. This is how the current Master came to. The Master has continued with his father's plans to destroy Mew. The Master suspects that his father knew how to destroy Mew, and is currently researching how this might be done; he has been especially focused on discovering something via memories of his father.

Which brings us right back to...

~ o ~ o ~ o

Chapter 33: That Ship Has Sailed

"Rita," a lab assistant said, peeking his head through the private laboratory's door. He nervously played with the pocket of his lab coat. "Alan wants to talk to you about the Forced Transformation Device and you have a meeting with the executives in twenty minutes—"

I stopped him from continuing with a wave of my hand, not bothering to stand up. "I'm busy. I'll be at the meeting in thirty."

I turned back to my subject, who was sitting across the clean lab table on a wooden swivel stool identical to the one I was currently seated on. I unrolled a blueprint, flattened it, and pushed it across the table. "Sticky, transform into this."

Sticky was currently transformed into her preferred form: a blonde girl with large olive-green eyes, an appearance Sticky had apparently created on her own. She looked at the blueprint, on which a simple cube was drawn.

Sticky nodded, and quickly her form shifted. The pink summer dress she had been wearing seemed to spread out until it engulfed her entire body, shrinking and changing until it was a cube the size of a watermelon. I took a picture of Sticky on the lab table with my Polaroid camera and then pulled another blueprint out of the lab table's drawer. Sticky transformed back into the blonde girl.

"Try this one," I said. Sticky smoothed the edges of the blueprint with her petite fingers. The drawing was a type of advanced Pokeball, with thin veins of a dark material spreading from the release button.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't _imagine_," Sticky said, smiling as the word rolled off of her tongue. She had only learned the word today.

"But you could imagine the box? I've provided exact dimensions for this Pokeball. You should be able to transform into it. Come on, try."

Sticky looked at the blueprint again, chewing the ends of her blonde hair. A very human gesture. "No. I don't know how this works."

"Well, can't you transform into a non-functional Pokeball?"

"Outside maybe yes. But I'm not a machine. Can't _imagine_ this. Without imagine, I can't become."

"What if I gave you a prototype of this Pokeball?"

"Well, yes. Duh. Then I can see, touch, and imagine. May I see _prontotype._"

"Prototype. No, we don't have one."

My pocket buzzed. Hesitantly, I pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Give me a second, Sticky," I said, pulling the walkie to my ear. "Yes?"

"Where is the transforming device, Miss Teal?" a silky voice said through the walkie.

"We're still working out kinks—"

"You said it would be done within the week. I did not expect you Rita of all people to exhibit such incompetence."

"Master, there are other projects. We've had so many breakthroughs in Ditto transformation, Pokemon psychology—"

"May I remind you, Miss Teal, that you work for Team Glop'emm. You work for me. If you cannot focus on the task at hand, I'll find and pay someone else, and you will lose your access to our equipment for whatever bizarre experiments you like to perform on your own time."

"Yes—"

"Where is Arkle? While he may lack your intelligence, he at least is loyal and obedient."

"He called me yesterday and told me his mother died. She's to be buried in Hoenn so he'll be gone at least a few more days. While I would normally mistrust his story, I had an assistant look into it—he checked out. There's even an obituary for his mother, Adina Arkle, in the Vintage Village Times."

"Fine. Get that transformer working, Rita. Master out."

The walkie was silent. Sighing, I dropped it back into my pocket, giving Sticky a half smile. "Master Mendol doesn't quite share my appreciation for science." I rolled up the blueprints.

Sticky transformed her clothes so she was wearing a white lab coat and safety goggles. "I can help with FTD. I'll go find Alan."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Alright, here's our room," Erin said. She handed me an envelope containing two card keys, and handed an identical envelope to Liam. "It looks like your room is down the hall. According to the front desk lady your bag should already be there."

Liam nodded, and he and Mel started down the hall while I opened our room. Immediately on the right there was a small bathroom—I mean seriously small, closet size. There were twin beds on either side of the room, a closet behind the door, and a small window between the beds. Erin sat down on the bed on the left, dropping her pack on the covers. I closed the door.

"Erin, we need to talk."

Erin tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and lied back on the bed. "I knew you would do this."

"Do what?"

"Ask me why I've been acting weird, ask what's going on…"

I sat down on the bed opposite to hers, crossing my legs. "No. I know what's going on. My powers freaked everyone out. I'm sorry, Erin. I never wanted to hurt or alarm anyone."

"I know you didn't _want_ to. But you still did."

I closed my eyes. "You don't know what it feels like… I've been attached psychically to Apple for most of my life. For her to just disappear…" Even the thought made me feel sick. "It was like losing a part of myself. I couldn't deal. I didn't deal well. I'm sorry."

Erin was quiet for a moment. "Anita, you're sweet and a good friend, but I freakin hate your powers."

"I didn't like them at first either, but they're part of who I am. Who I'm going to be."

Erin shook her head. "It's just… I'm not scared of your powers—I mean I am, but I'm more scared of what they're going to do to you—how they're going to change you."

"Liam and Mel have the gift, too."

"Anita, this isn't about them. They're not in the same situation as you. Mel's known about his powers for a while, and Liam seems very experienced using his. They're in control. You're not and your powers are more dangerous. You could seriously hurt yourself. And if anyone really knew what you were capable of… Just, be careful, okay? And I'll try to get used to them."

"I don't think you have to worry anytime soon. I can't even get into anyone's mind at the moment. Maybe they're gone for good."

Erin smiled sadly. "Unlikely."

I shrugged. Then suddenly, from down the hall, I heard, "ANITA!"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I woke up and the world was spinning so I went back to sleep.

I woke up again, this time to an extremely loud voice. "ANITA!" It was Mel's voice. "Liam's gonna kill you!" I covered my ears with my paws the best I could. "I have to pee." I realized I still felt nauseated when Mel scrambled away… so I barfed.

I clambered out of my basket away from the puke… only to realize I was actually climbing out of a suitcase? I was on a bed next to a suitcase with light from a round window beaming onto my tail. When I looked out the window I could see the ocean. I was on a boat? I looked up and found Liam glaring down at me. I smiled at him sheepishly, noticed I had barf on my paws, and wiped it on his bedding.

The door slammed open. "What's wrong?" Erin asked. Liam gestured at me.

Anita was about to enter the room when there was a toilet flush, and Mel opened the bathroom door. There was a loud thump followed by much swearing as Anita walked into the bathroom door, which inconveniently opened into the room's doorway. I couldn't help giggling.

"How'd Apple get in here?" Erin asked.

Liam looked pointedly at Anita as she closed the bathroom door, still grumbling. Then she saw me sitting on Liam's pillow. "Apple! You're awake!" Anita ran over to the bed and scooped me up, giving me that stomach-drop feeling that happens when you go down a roller coaster hill… not that I've illegally snuck into an amusement park and hid in the back cart of the biggest roller coaster or anything. Anita squinted at me and mumbled, "Darn, I still can't talk to her."

I rolled my eyes. She shouldn't be complaining; she would recover her powers within a few days—it wasn't like she'd had them sucked out of her by a psycho Celebi. It'd take me a month, maybe more, to get back to how I was before Celebi. Before Celebi. Haha. B.C.

Mel was filling Erin in on all the details. "—so then BAM. Liam opened the suitcase and his stuff wasn't there and Apple was. Pretty cool, huh?" Liam sat down on the bed everyone wasn't crowded around, massaging his temples.

Erin turned to Anita. "What'd you do with Liam's stuff?"

"Threw it off of the dock," Anita said nonchalantly.

"Anita! That's seriously not—"

"It was a joke! Geeze, I'll buy him new stuff—"

"That was so funny, ahahaha—"

"SHUT UP!" Liam stood up, pointing at Mel, then Anita, and then Erin. "You're loud. You're obnoxious. You're not helping." He looked at me in Anita's arms. "And you're evil." He crowded us toward the door. "I have a headache. This boat's just started moving and I already feel seasick. Get out." With that, he shoved us out of the room and closed the door.

Anita shrugged, scratching me between the ears. "I'm gonna go sit on the deck."

"It's weird Apple wasn't caught in security," Erin said, walking with Anita down the hall. "Don't they usually have psychic Pokemon check the bags for anything unusual?"

Anita shrugged again. "Weird. Oh, well."

"Hmm, I think I'm going to go ask about security."

"Don't tell them about Apple!"

"No, I won't. It's just… I mean, they didn't check any bags? Something just doesn't seem right."

As Anita turned a corner to climb a staircase up to the upper decks and Erin turned to descend the staircase to investigate or whatnot, Mel was left to pound on the door. "Let me in! Don't make me go untouchable!"

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The sun was setting over Acceber—we were on the wrong side of the Pallet Sea to watch it set over the water. Nonetheless, the colors were spectacular. The smell of salt and Anita's hand lotion was soothing as I dozed in Anita's arms, looking through the railing at Acceber's shores. Anita had pulled a beach chair to near the bow of the boat, where very few people remained because of the wind chill. I didn't think it was so bad, but I guess I had fur and was cuddled up against Anita.

Anita stroked my head as I listened to her drabble. "—and so Liam just walked right past security while the rest of us were forced to hand over our Pokeballs. What a pooh…" Suddenly, Anita got quiet. I could only hear the waves lapping against the ship's side. "I'm going to get my powers back, right, Apple?" she asked quietly, leaning back in the beach chair.

I nodded.

Anita sighed. "It's kind of—hey, Mel."

I lifted my head. Mel approached us, his nose scrunched. "Anita, can I sleep in your room tonight? Mine smells bad. Liam keeps getting seasick."

"Sure. Did you tell Erin?"

"No. I couldn't find—"

"What the…?" Anita suddenly stood up, looking toward the bow of the ship. I peered over her shoulder. There, mopping the front of the ship, dressed in white custodian uniform, was Jake Veneer. "He was definitely on his way to Artemis Town last time I checked, which means…" Anita grinned and put a hand next to her mouth. "Hey Jake," she called, "lose a bet? Or a gym battle? Lost all your money to Artemis's gym and had to work?"

Jake looked up at Anita for a moment and then continued mopping.

"Who's that?" Mel asked.

"Hmph. Jake Veneer. He'd better not ignore me." I was jostled as Anita stalked up to Jake, Mel trailing behind. "Hey, asshole! Jake, hello! Jake!"

Jake frowned. "This girl appears to know me. Perhaps if I ignore her, she'll go away."

"Cut it out. Oh, this is so great! I can't wait to tell Erin."

"My plan of inaction is failing. How would a human react to such a situation? How would this human react? Maybe I can search through his memories… damn it, where are Giselle and Spooks and the others?" Jake looked at the sunset. "We're far enough away…"

"What the f—" Anita started. Suddenly, she shuddered and dropped me. I landed on my feed and dug my claws into the slippery wood floor to keep from sliding off the side of the boat. Anita looked at her shoes, squeaking her feet against the wet wood. She spun in a circle. "Ahh, this is amazing." She looked at Jake. "Ghouly, why didn't you tell us? I would've found a body sooner."

Okay, something weird was definitely going on here. I quickly scampered under one of the beach recliners on the deck, hoping to remain unnoticed.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough. I almost had to deal with actual humans." He gestured at his body. "They seemed to know him."

"Dude, its not that hard. Just look into the kid's memories and figure out what to do," Mel said. Suddenly, Mel slapped himself. He restrained the slapping hand with his other. "Damn it! Giselle, why can't I have the girl? I'm older!" Mel slapped himself again. "Ugh. This one already has a ghost in him or something! It's not fair. I want the girl."

Ghosts. Again. Poopsicles. Why did this always happen to us? I ducked lower to the floor.

Anita—or Giselle?—smiled sweetly at Mel and swung an arm around Jake's neck, leaning into him. "I get the girl 'cause Ghouly and I've been going steady for months now and I've heard this physical touch thing feels super amazing—better than the moment a cow farts and we can bask in the methane—"

"What does this have to do with you getting the girl?"

"Uhh, Spooks, 'cause if I took your body that'd be called 'perverted' in the human world." Anita/Giselle kissed Jake/Ghouly on the cheek and giggled. "I kinda like this assignment."

Jake dropped the mop and put his hands around Anita's waist.

Spooks seemed to have better control over Mel now, though his arm kept twitching. "I'm going to go ask the boss for a different body."

"I don't think the boss'll go for it. What'd he know about body preferences? He's had the same one his whole life," Jake/Ghouly said.

"Maybe Ghouly and I'll find a room…" Anita said, a smile on her face that made me want to barf. I could only imagine what was actually going through Anita's head right now. She was probably flipping a shit. Neither of us had our powers, her Pokemon weren't with her, and she was acting all lovey-dovey with Jake. I was suddenly extremely grateful for choosing a normal type Pokemon to transform into, one ghosts couldn't touch.

"Hey, weren't you holding an Eevee?" Jake asked, pulling away from Anita slightly.

"Was I?"

"Yeah, your body was," Jake said definitively. "And I thought it was weird when she approached because the boss said nobody would have any Pokemon and there she was, holding an Eevee. When you took over, she dropped it…" Jake looked toward the cluster of beach recliners on the deck, where I was hiding. Uh-oh. I turned around, tiptoeing away under the recliners the best I could, trying not to cause any abrupt movements that might allow them to see me.

There were still a few people lying atop the recliners. My tail accidently brushed the butt of a woman sleeping in one of the recliners, and she jumped up, squealing. I quick attacked my way out of that situation.

When I finally darted across the deck to the staircase, their voices had faded. Good. I crept down the stairs, careful to stay in the shadows. I wasn't sure how many people were being taken over by ghosts, but either way, I wasn't supposed to be wandering the ship.

At the bottom of the staircase, I ducked behind a vacuum cleaner as a group of about ten people climbed the staircase.

"—and the boss said we're to scrub the deck—"

"—not fair. We have the hard labor stuff—"

"—thought scrubbing the deck was an idiom—"

"—when I signed up, I thought Team Glop'emm was cooler—"

Team Glop'emm? That couldn't be good. I had to get those ghosts out of Anita and Mel's bodies. I wasn't sure what was going on, but Anita would be pretty unhappy if I left her to make out with Jake. I had to find Liam. He'd be able to stop this mess.

Luckily, I couldn't hear anyone else in the corridor, and it was a clear shot to Liam's room from this staircase. I sprinted across the green carpet until I reached room 325. I couldn't hear anything when I put my ear against the door, but I could definitely smell Liam's puke. It made me shudder.

I pawed at the door. No answer.

I looked left, then right. Not spotting anyone else in or around the hall, I ran at the door, causing a loud bang when my body and the door collided. No answer again. I repeated this multiple times, but Liam never answered. Maybe he was passed out.

I jumped up and snapped at the door handle. I was too short. Then I realized it was probably locked anyway. Darn it, psychic powers would be so useful just about now.

Now what? I could find Erin, but there was a chance she'd be taken over, too. I guess I could look for the so-called 'boss' I'd heard these ghosts talking about. I felt a chill as I started to walk down the hallway. The air smelled slightly strange.

I turned around. A Ghastly floated behind me, grinning. Ghost salvia dripped from its mouth. Gross.

The Ghastly's eyes glowed red so I immediately shut mine to prevent the hypnosis from having an effect. I lunged at the ghost, my teeth bared.

I must have missed because I got a mouth full of carpet when I landed. I prepared to launch another bite attack when I was forcefully hit in the side, slammed into the hall's wall. Sucker punch, I remembered. An attack that only works if you're preparing to attack.

Snarling, I opened my eye a crack. The Ghastly was hovering just above me. Sucker punch was really the only attack that it probably knew that could affect me if I kept my eyes closed. I whipped my tail back and forth, willing the Ghastly's guard to be let down. Only when I attacked would the Ghastly be able to attack.

I sprung forward and bit down as hard as I could. I felt the Ghasly struggling between my teeth, and released it from my jaws when it went limp. Not wanting to stick around in case anyone heard the battle, I ran down the stairs, leaving the Ghastly knocked out on the floor. I paused only to lick the wallpaper in order to get the nasty Ghastly aftertaste out of my mouth.

As I rounded the stairwell corner of the lowest floor, I heard Mel muttering. "Damn boss. 'No one available to take that body.' Bullshit. He totally just wanted me out of his hair. Of course, I get stuck with the faulty human…"

I peeked around the corner. Mel saw me. "Hey, it's the—hmmmph!" One of Mel's hands was covering his mouth, the other flailing wildly. Suddenly, Mel shuddered. "Apple, down this hall, left, and left, room twenty-one!"

I sprinted down the hall, which was clearly meant only for maintenance. The walls were a dull grey and the lights were dim. Somewhere, I heard water dripping.

I skidded as I turned the first corner. There were two older teenagers talking in the hall. They stopped talking when they saw me, surprised. "What the hell?" I slid through one of the teen's legs, not bothering to stop as I heard the click of a Pokeball being removed from a belt.

I took another left, and found room twenty-one immediately on my right. The room was open. I lit my tail up in preparation as I entered the room.

There were four people in the room. Two guys with rust colored hair wearing security uniforms were standing between a pile of brown cloth pouches and three large wooden crates. The man on the left was holding a pouch, emptying its contents into a crate. The wooden planks that made up the crates were spread just far enough apart that I could see the crates were filled with Pokeballs.

The third man watched the other two, leaning against the left wall nearest to the crates. He had long red-golden hair and was smoking a cigarette.

The last person was a girl messily tied to a chair. Random ends of frayed rope stuck out awkwardly from the chair's sides. The girl was wearing heels and had a cloth in her mouth. Erin.

There was a heartbeat when nobody reacted to my entrance. Erin was the first to move. She flicked her eyes to the right-hand corner of the room near the door, opposite the crates. The man with long red hair dropped his cigarette and reached for his belt. The two guys in security uniforms looked at the man with red hair, perhaps waiting for directions.

I lunged to the corner of the room Erin had looked at and saw a brown pouch. I felt something attempt to bite my tail, but I swatted it away with an iron tail attack. I ripped the brown pouch open with my teeth and pressed the release button of the four Pokeballs within.

Griffy, Wella, Tweal, and Missy popped out of their Pokeballs. I turned around. Two Golbats, a Growlithe, a Koffing, and a Nuzleaf faced us. There was also a Raticate trying to pick itself up in front of the crates—it was probably the Pokemon I'd hit with iron tail.

Griffy immediately threw the Golbats across the room with a psychic attack. I blocked the Nuzleaf from attacking Griffy, tackling it to the ground. Wella released a burst of water that knocked the Growlithe back into the man with long red hair, knocking out the Growlithe and getting the man wet. Tweal fluttered to Erin's side, pecking at the knots in the rope, only pausing to blow away poisonous smog released by Koffing.

Missy cackled in the midst of the chaos. {Get behind me, around Erin,} Griffy said suddenly, backing toward Erin. Erin stood up, finally free of the ropes, and Tweal sat proudly on her shoulder. Erin removed the cloth from her mouth, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it. I pushed Wella, who was slow to move, below Griffy, just as Griffy put up a psychic barrier around the group.

Missy didn't get behind the barrier, though she continued to laugh. She disappeared behind the Koffing. The Koffing turned around, but didn't see anything and flicked its eyes around fearfully. Missy appeared abruptly right in front of the Koffing's face.

The Koffing let out a screech, closed its eyes tightly like it was constipated—BOOM. The Koffing selfdestructed.

The man with red hair and the two 'security guards' were knocked unconscious, the crates were broken piles of splinters, Pokeballs flooded the room, and there were several burnt marks on the walls.

"Nice one, Missy," Erin said, brushing off her jeans. "Glad to see your scaring skills actually going to good use." Erin looked around the room. "Well, first things first. Griffy, locate Anita and Mel's Pokeballs. Everyone else, tie up those goons."

Wella glowered at Erin incredulously, as if saying, {I don't have arms, you moron.}

Missy created ghost arms so she and Tweal ended up doing most of the tying. While they were finishing up, I told Griffy about the ghost Pokemon taking over peoples' bodies. {We'll need ghost attacks or dark Pokemon to get them out,} I said. {Ghost attacks won't affect humans and dark will just repel the ghosts.}

{I'm sure several of these other Pokemon will kindly grant us their help.} Griffy's eyes glowed, apparently psychically sensing which Pokeballs held Pokemon that would be able to help. Suddenly, there were several flashes of red. Ghastlys, Shuppets, Duskulls, and all other types of ghost Pokemon were released from their Pokeballs. {I can't sense or release dark Pokemon from their Pokeballs.} I noticed that Sunflower was also released from her Pokeball, looking around the frenzied room in confusion.

While Griffy began describing what the ghost Pokemon were to do, I said, "Come on," to Sunflower and leapt from the room. I explained the situation to Sunflower as we ran. "You've got to use shadow ball to get the ghost out of her body."

We ran past Mel on our way to the deck. He gave us a thumbs up. "Great news, I fought that ghost 'til he was gone, out of my head! Hey, where are you going?"

By the time we reached the deck, several travelers had come up for air, scratching their heads in confusion or verifying that their experience hadn't been a dream. Griffy's ghost Pokemon must have already been getting to work on the lower levels. It wasn't hard to find Anita and Jake. I just followed the kissing noises.

Anita was lying on top of Jake on a reclining beach chair, their legs intertwined. A couple walked over to this side of the deck, pleased they had found an empty area. They took one glance at Anita and Jake, turned around, and headed back to the other side of the deck. The only people near Anita and Jake were a few kids, too enwrapped in some imaginary game of ninja sailors to notice the kissing noises.

Sunflower looked at me nervously, her nose twitching. "You sure I should do this? She looks pretty… happy." Anita rolled over so her back was facing Sunflower.

I nodded. Sunflower created a shadow ball and shot it at Anita. There were twin screeches as the ball of ghost material traveled through Anita and then Jake. Two Ghastlys hovered over the deck. One Ghastly stuck out its tongue at me and the other headed right back for Anita's body.

Sunflower fired a warning shadow ball between the Ghastly and Anita. I growled loudly, baring my teeth, my fur standing on end. The Ghastlys disappeared.

Oddly enough, Anita and Jake were still lying down. I walked around to where I could see both clearly. They were still kissing; their eyes still closed. "Eevee!" I barked.

Anita opened her eyes. She looked at Jake; then her eyes darted to me. She fell off the recliner.

Jake sat up, looking dazed, while Anita got to her feet. "Weird dream…" Jake started, only to see Anita gaping at him.

"Y-y-you…" she stuttered. Anita turned and fled to the side of the boat, where she would continue to spit into the sea for the next hour and a half.

"You're welcome," Jake called after her, grinning.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Honchrow landed on the Zahava's gym roof silently; not even the rustle of his feathers in the wind could be heard. I slipped off the bird, whispering for him to stay put until I called. My cloak hid me in the night against the dark, pointed roof.

I slid to the roof gutter, caught a branch of a nearby tree, and swung myself away from the roof, landing on the ground in a roll. The gym was dotted with onyx that glittered in the small amount of moonlight. The door was painted silver, with large disk-like doorknobs. Carved above the door were the words: "Beware the brain. Treasure the mind."

I opened the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, the door slammed shut behind me and a large desk zoomed over my head. "Don't move, Mendol."

"Hello, Tamara." Tamara stood, her eyes glowing a bright violet at the end of a white tiled hall. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Espeon heard you outside." Her Espeon trotted from around the corner, circling Tamara's feet. "What are you doing here? Where have you been the past three weeks?"

I flashed her a smile before throwing a Pokeball from belt. "Umbreon, take out Espeon. Spiritomb, go!" In a flash of red, Umbreon took off towards Espeon, her eyes red and hypnotizing. I jumped forward, dodging the desk released from Tamara's psychic grip. Tamara stood rigidly, unable to move or speak.

Espeon quickly succumbed to Umbreon's confuse ray, giving Umbreon the chance to use faint attack and knock the psychic Pokemon out. I pulled the hood of my cloak off and approached Tamara, the soft thud of my shoes echoing down the hall. "Spiritomb, allow her to speak," I told the ghost Pokemon, invisible within Tamara's body.

"You… you only released Umbreon… which means…" she said.

"Ah, yes, Spiritomb has been hovering around you for quite some time now, Tamara. It's the reason you are unable to share any memories of me with anyone else. Spiritomb has and will continue to imprison them. I thought you'd have figured that out by now."

"Now that I know… I'll find a way," Tamara croaked. A lock of grey and brown hair fell across her face.

I tilted my head slightly, examining the symmetrical doors behind Tamara. "Unlikely." Spiritomb had been specifically trained for this type of work. "Let's find somewhere to talk. Umbreon, keep an eye on Espeon. Attack any psychic Pokemon Tamara may have left on guard."

I opened a door behind Tamara, which lead to an office with large windows across the back overlooking where the Kruncked River poured into Lemon Lake. Tamara didn't have a desk—instead she had a glass table sprinkled with a few papers and a circular stand, which held a computer monitor. I took a seat in the swivel chair behind the glass table, resting my feet on a clump of the papers on the glass table. Spiritomb, still controlling Tamara's body, made her pull a plastic fold-up chair from the closet and sat her on the other side of the glass table.

"We almost caught you," Tamara said. "The other day, in Winsk City. Nai saw you."

"You're mistaken."

"There were Weavile prints. We know—"

"Enough. I'm here for information, not to listen to your inept speculations," I said. "Seven years ago, my father came to Zahavah City. I want to know what he did."

"That's why you're holding me hostage? You came to Zahavah City in the middle of the night, attacked my Pokemon, and took over my body just to hear a story?" Tamara laughed dryly.

"No. I came to Zahavah City, took out your Espeon, and took control of your body to hear a story _and_ not be tracked when I leave _and_ not be attacked by the other gym leaders that would surely come running after you called them telepathically."

"Well if my memory is not failing me, seven years ago when your father came to Zahavah I found myself in a situation oddly similar to this one," Tamara said. "It would be much easier to share telepathically."

I closed my eyes, mentally portioning off and concealing my most protected memories. "Fine," I said. "But the moment you even consider probing my mind, I'll push you out of my head and Spiritomb will forcibly search through your memories for the one of my father I'm looking for. It will be painful."

Tamara nodded. Carefully lowering my mental barrier, I allowed her to enter my mind.

_Tamara stood in her office, her arms tied to her side with a dark, stretchy band and a piece of tape across her mouth. She looked younger—her hair had no grey strands and the corners of her eyes didn't crinkle. A large Charizard hovered over Tamara, his three-fingered claws on her shoulders, ensuring that she didn't move. The office was assembled differently than its current arrangement. There was a wooden desk where the glass table currently lay, and a bulky computer on another wooden desk in the corner of the room. The floor had been carpeted and the windows were shaded._

_On the carpet in middle of the office, a Houndoom stood on top of a Xatu. The Houndoom's claws dug into the bird, spilling drops of blood across the Xatu's colorful wings, turning the carpet below from white to red._

_A man in a black cloak stood between the Houndoom and the Charizard, his green eyes reflecting the dim light from Charizard's tail._

"_Tamara Lilac," the man said. "You have in your possession the most powerful Xatu known in Acceber, perhaps the most powerful in the world. I have heard it can foresee the future. You will command it to tell me where and when Mew will be in the next month." The man approached Tamara, who met his gaze evenly. He ripped the tape off from her mouth. "Well?"_

_Charizard breathed out smoke, causing Tamara to break into a coughing fit. "You can't catch Mew… It's too powerful. Plus, Xatu's power doesn't work that way," she finally gasped. Charizard swung his tail dangerously close to Tamara's desk._

_The man pivoted around to face the Xatu. "Houndoom, get off." Revealing his teeth, the Houndoom moved to sit at the man's heels. The Xatu's eyes were closed, its wings bent at awkward angles. "Xatu, I have the ability to torture and kill your trainer. Tell me where Mew will be."_

"_Xats, no," Tamara said. "You don't have to. As psychics we have the duty to protect—mmpf" The man retaped Tamara's mouth._

"_Charizard," the man said dangerously. Charizard breathed out a small ember, catching Tamara's hair on fire. The man turned back to Xatu. "Now, let's talk."_

_Xatu opened an eye, making eye contact with the green-eyed man. The Xatu's iris shrunk and seemed to spin slowly. Suddenly, the Xatu's head fell back, breaking the eye contact. "Outside Melonbi tomorrow…" the man said quietly to himself. He returned his Houndoom to its Pokeball. "Charizard, let's go."_

_The man left with his Charizard, leaving Tamara to wriggle and roll around on the floor until the fire in her hair was put out._

"Your father was a cruel man," Tamara said. I was jolted back into reality, looking eerily around the room I had just seen filled with smoke. I took my feet off of the glass desk. Tamara closed her eyes. "I released Xats the next day and haven't talked to him since. I had my Kadabra teleport him to a Pokemon Center in Johto."

I nodded and rose, pushing the swivel chair back into the glass table.

As I walked out the office door, Tamara called, "Did you find what you needed to know?"

"No." To myself I muttered, "I found out more than I ever wanted to."


	37. Smells Like Change

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Sorry I stink at life- or maybe just at getting chapters out on time. This chapter and the next one are super long and kinda brain consuming so its taken me a lot longer to revise. I will continue outputting chapters on a monthly basis and will even try to make up for missing May! Sorry again, guys!

A thanks to all my readers who stick with me despite my horrible updating skills!

obsesssed-beyond-reason2001 - Thank you!

Also, if anyone's bored this summer, I highly recommend watching the anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Anywho...

_Previously in An Apple A Day:_

Erin, Anita, Liam, and Mel set sail for Vintage Village, only to find the boat was being controlled by Team Glop'emm members in a scheme to steal every passenger's Pokemon. The Glop'emm members used several Ghastlys to control crew members and passengers. Jake was among the passengers. Apple came to the rescue. All Pokemon were returned to their original owners and everyone was freed from the Ghastlys' control.

Meanwhile, the Master paid Tamara Lilac, the psychic gym leader, a visit. He discovered that six years ago, his father forced Tamara's Xatu to reveal the next place Mew would appear. However, the Master has still found no information about how to destroy Mew.

Jamie Arkle has temporarily left Rita Teal in charge of Team Glop'emm so he can get more about the Master and hopefully discover the Master's location and future plans. The Master and Rita both believe Jamie has left to bury his dead mother in Hoenn.

Enjoy!

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 34: Smells Like Change

I hesitantly knocked on the door. When there was no answer, I used Mel's key card to unlock the door and stepped into the room. On my shoulder, Apple shuddered and covered her nose with her paws. Mel had been right; it did smell pretty bad in here.

The bed on the right was still perfectly made—Mel had slept on the floor of our room last night. Liam was asleep in the other bed, tangled in the white sheets. His hair looked like the back of a porcupine, sticking up in random directions across his pillow. He actually was kind of cute all snuggled up with the sheets. Much more relaxed.

I tiptoed forward, considering all the ways I could wake him up. I grinned. Maybe I could jump on him…

I felt uneven ground beneath my tennis shoes and looked down. Upon seeing the crumpled button-down shirt beneath my shoe and the pair of jeans at the edge of Liam's bed, I blushed slightly. So no jumping…

Six Pokeballs and a slightly bulky grey phone still hooked onto Liam's jeans caught my eye. Curiously, I bent over and reached for a Pokeball—

A hand grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing?" My eyes trailed up the arm grabbing mine to a bare-chested Liam, crouching over me. Apple's surprised expression mirrored my own. How'd he move that quickly so quietly?

"Nothing." I flushed as Liam let go of me. In an attempt to get out of my awkward crouched position, I twisted around but lost balance and fell on my butt. Apple leapt off my shoulder and onto Mel's bed, probably to keep an eye on Liam. Liam stood up. "I came to get you up—we're almost to Vintage Village."

Liam folded his arms across his chest, giving me an uncomfortable glare. I almost choked when I saw his boxers—they were covered in little pictures of chocolate chip cookies. Liam cleared his throat while I held back a fit of giggles. He pointedly shifted his eyes to the floor beneath me.

Patting my hand on the floor, I realized I was still sitting on his jeans. I scrambled backwards, crab walking, then picking myself off the ground, and suddenly finding the water outside extremely interesting.

Liam mumbled something that sounded like, "Laundry day… dumb joke gift… stupid… all my other ones in the suitcase" as he got dressed. Then he said more clearly, "Is there a reason you're still in my room?"

Why the hell did he always have that nasty terse tone? "Yeah," I said, watching him put his shirt on in the reflection of the window. "I just thought you should know that while you were unconscious or puking or whatever last night, the boat was taken over by ghosts apparently controlled by Team Glop'emm—"

"What?"

I turned around. Liam looked less put together than I'd ever seen him in his crumpled, navy blue button up and his hair falling over his ear on his left side and sticking straight up on the right side. I rolled my eyes. "Team Glop'emm used ghosts to take over me and Mel and Jake—he's on the boat, apparently Team Glop'emm snatched him up and had ghosts take over his body in Artemis Town, where he has _not _yet won a badge, thank you very much—"

"I don't give a crap about Jake. Team Glop'emm…?"

"Well, luckily Apple whooped their asses," I gave Apple a thumbs up. She sat a little straighter on the bed and cocked her head up proudly. "and with the help of other trainers' dark and ghost Pokemon we drove out all the ghosts. I'm still not quite sure how the Team Glop'emm grunts were able to control so many ghosts, but they had quite an operation here stealing Pokemon. They were even controlling the captain. Apparently, they had at least one successful operation in Artemis Town—"

"What happened to the Glop'emm members?" Liam bent over the garbage can and knotted the plastic bag.

"Officer Jennys from Artemis Town came really quickly when we called. The Jennys took the Glop'emm guys back for questioning after making sure everyone got back their Pokemon and everything was okay here." I sat down on Mel's bed next to Apple as Liam picked the plastic bag out of the garbage can. The bag resembled an upside down, closed, water-filled umbrella, because of the way it was weighed down. Okay, actually, an upside down, closed, water-filled umbrella that _reeked_. "That's… are you feeling better?"

Liam opened the room's door, and tossed the bag into the hallway. Ew, now some poor janitor would have to pick it up and the hallway would start to stink.

Liam slammed the door shut. When he looked at me, it was like there was lightning in his eyes, preparing to lash out. The rest of his face was expressionless. I'd never seen him this angry before. Actually, I'd never seen him angry at all. "Let's see… I've been puking for about the last twelve hours, all of my possessions were thrown overboard, you waltzed in here this morning poking at what's left of my stuff and laughing at my boxers, and _you're still here._" I flinched. Liam opened the door again, pointedly waiting for me to leave.

I felt my cheeks heat up in anger. Apple shot me a warning look, but I didn't care. "I don't get it," I said, my voice rising. "Why do you treat other people like shit? I just came in here to wake you up and let you know the messed up crap you missed last night—"

"Bullshit—you were being your usual nosy self, probably coming up with some ridiculous way to make me more miserable—maybe throw the rest of my clothes overboard—"

I got to my feet. "Will you drop it already? I thought it'd be funny, and its not like you constantly care about anything anyway—"

"Oh yeah, I don't care the slightest about not having any clothes to wear—"

"—and maybe there were OTHER reasons I used your suitcase—"

"Like? You're just a selfish brat—"

"LIKE APPLE NOT HAVING A POKEBALL." The room was suddenly eerily silent. "She was sick and I needed to get her aboard somehow."

"Apple doesn't have a Pokeball?" Liam asked, his face suddenly vacant of all emotion. He stared at Apple as she jumped onto my shoulder.

"No, she doesn't," I snapped, striding towards the door. I stopped just outside the doorway. "You know, if anyone's selfish, its you. You don't give a damn about anyone—I didn't have the best night either, being possessed by a ghost and forced into kissing Jake for two hours—"

"Oh yeah, making out is really awful. I'm so sorry—" I grabbed the cold doorknob and yanked with all of my strength.

The door's slam echoed down the hallway.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

"I have a boyfriend," a brunette said, stomping her foot against the deck and walking away from Jake.

I snickered as Jake signed and sat down on a reclining chair. Failed attempt number three.

I leaned on the slick wooden railing and reached up to my shoulder to pet Apple between the ears. Mint Mountain was easy to see, even from Cape Caution, but now we were close enough that I could make out wooden cottages scattered about the mountain's base—Vintage Village. A breeze brushed my hair away from the back of my neck, sending a chill down my spine.

Something didn't feel right. _I_ didn't quite feel right.

Twice now, a ghost had taken control of my body. Twice, I'd been saved by Apple.

The one time Apple was in trouble—the one time I thought she needed to be saved, I failed.

Last night, I'd woken up sweating, terrified Apple'd be gone. I relaxed when I found her asleep, curled up next to my pillow, but I couldn't fall back asleep. I'd just lied there, breathing the salty air and listening to Erin's soft snores until the sun beamed its first few rays through our small, round window.

Something was coming and I didn't know what and I still couldn't talk to Apple and I didn't understand why or why I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach…

"So why won't Anita and Erin talk to you?" I glanced over my shoulder. Mel had sat down next to Jake. "Anita said you were a rival trainer. Erin said you rivaled wild Sentrets for most annoying thing on earth."

"I have a complicated relationship with the ladies," Jake said. "See…"

Or maybe that foreboding feeling was just a reaction to seeing Jake again.

"Anita, catch!" I turned my head just in time for something plastic to smack me in the face. I looked down at the deck and saw a bag of chips. "Nice catch," Erin said dryly, leaning over the rail next to me and popping a potato chip from a bag she was holding into her mouth. I bent over and picked up the bag of chips.

"Thanks. Where'd you get them?" I asked, opening the bag. Apple sniffed the bag. For a moment, I thought she would try to swipe one, but instead she lifted her nose to the air.

"Some concession guy. I mean, it was kind of a rip-off, but there's nothing else to eat on this boat." Suddenly, Apple leapt off my shoulder and took off running in the direction Erin just came from. "Aren't you going to chase her?"

"You shouldn't have mentioned 'concession,'" I muttered as I opened my chip bag. "I'm just going to pretend I'm not associated with that Eevee until she's through attacking the concession seller. Was he selling hotdogs?"

Erin nodded.

"We're doomed."

Erin glanced over at Jake and Mel. I followed her gaze. "I can totally get one before you do," Mel said.

Jake shook his head, smirking. "No way—you're too young. You've got to leave the flirting to us older teens."

Oy.

"Anita," Erin said, looking out at the water. The warm sun reflected off of the waves brightly. "We've got to talk about Mel."

"Why?"

"Well, I was asking my mom about it, and technically its illegal for him to be travelling with us. We're not eighteen so we don't count as guardians and Mel's not thirteen so he's not allowed to be travelling without a guardian." Erin sighed. "Plus, it was our original idea to leave him at the Vintage Village orphanage, and then there's his ghost powers to consider…"

"Whatever, it's not like anyone's going to catch us. I say we let him just tag along. I mean, he can be annoying, but he's a good kid." I chewed a potato chip slowly. We couldn't just abandon Mel in an orphanage, and Liam and I knew how to handle his ghost powers better than whoever ran that place.

"But what if something happened? What if we couldn't protect him from a dangerous Pokemon or from Team Glop'emm or something?"

"Mel can handle himself."

"No, I don't think so. He's eight years old, Anita. While he's a nice kid, he needs a parent right now, and someone who can teach him how to use his powers—"

"You've already admitted that he has great control, better than me—"

"Which is seriously not saying much, Anita." Erin lowered her voice. "Apparently, he got stuck as a ghost for months once. His dad thought he died; that's why his dad left. He told me a few nights ago…"

My chest constricted. I stared at Erin for a moment and then glanced at Mel, who was currently hugging a very pretty, busty woman around the waist. "Oh, you're so adorable!" the woman exclaimed, ruffling Mel's hair. Mel stuck his tongue out at Jake, who was watching Mel while chatting with a group of cackling girls.

"I had no idea," I said. I felt the plastic bag slide through my fingers and watched as it fell into the ocean and was sucked into the boat's wake, leaving a trail of soggy potato chips in the water. I shook my head. "I still think he needs to be with someone who understands his ghost gift."

Erin nodded in agreement. "We should contact Abalina. The other two don't seem quite as… responsible."

"Or sane." I watched as Jake tried to flirt with the same woman Mel had just hugged. The woman slapped Jake across the face while Mel pointed and laughed at Jake from behind the woman. "I'd still rather him travel with us."

"I just don't think we're qualified. I'll go ask Liam, and then I'll give Abalina a call—"

"Leave him at the orphanage." I whirled around. Liam stood on the other side of me, looking up at the clear sky and leaning against the railing. "He shouldn't be wandering about Acceber when there are people like Team Glop'emm searching for anything that could get them more power or money. If they ever discovered his abilities, he'd be taken hostage faster than he could turn invisible." Liam pointed his index finger so it was parallel to the railing, pointing towards the front of the boat. "By the way, Anita, you might want to fetch Apple before she tackles another person off the boat."

"She what?"

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

By the time I dragged Apple away from the cluster of wrapped hotdogs she had managed to bite into and the concession man was successfully pulled back onto the boat, we had arrived in Vintage Village, and we were waiting for the boat to dock. Luckily, the crew seemed to be too occupied trying to calm the concession man as he hugged the lifesaver in the seawaters, reassuring him that he would be reimbursed for his lost hotdogs, to look for the source of all the mayhem.

Apple now sat by my feet—I refused to let her cling to my shoulder with her disgusting hotdog breath. Erin was playing a game with Mel where the goal was to slap the opponent's hand—Mel was easily winning with his ability to make a hand disappear. I had no idea where Jake had wandered off to, but I didn't really care. Liam and I watched a larger ship pull away from the dock. Vintage Village's dock was tiny—it held a few small personal boats, but only had two major ports where larger ships could dock.

{Hotdog…} I looked at Apple in surprise.

{I heard you!} I said excitedly. Apple didn't react. Darn it, she didn't hear. "I heard you, Apple!"

Apple looked up at me grinning. She squinted at me. I thought she was trying to communicate with me so I reached out my mind. {…saying now? Guess… damn…} I looked at Apple in confusion. {…recovering… end of day.}

"I think I heard about every other word. Is that good?"

Apple nodded.

"Great, now you can start exploding light bulbs again," Liam said dryly.

I folded my arms across my chest, rustling my t-shirt. "Nobody asked—"

_**HOOOONK**_

The large white ship leaving the dock was now fully turned around, ready to start moving out toward the open seas. The ship had to be six times the size of the boat we were currently on, with eight or nine floors. It was so big, it could only be an interregional ship. I read the side of the ship: _S.S. Tidal._

"Where do you think the ship's going?" I asked. When Liam didn't respond, I turned my head to look at him. He gripped the railing tightly as he sent a distant stare out at the other ship. I followed his gaze.

On the _S.S. Tidal_, a gaunt man wearing a long trench coat appeared to be staring right back at Liam. His hair was swept to the side and I could only see that he was wearing glasses from the reflection of the sun when his face moved slightly. A large white, feathery Pokemon sat by his feet. "Do you know him?" I asked.

"No."

I squinted at the Pokemon, but couldn't make out exactly what it was. "Can you see what Pokemon's by his feet? I don't think I've seen one like it before."

"Togekiss."

Liam watched the large ship drift away. When our boat docked, his gaze still hadn't faltered. "Uh, Liam, we have to get off the boat."

Liam nodded, finally looking away from the ship on the horizon, and followed Erin, Mel, and me as we walked down the aluminum ramp to the ground. Liam had ditched his suitcase, no longer having any possessions to store in it.

"Well, I guess we should probably find the Pokemon Center," Erin said, looking at the identical stone-built houses that lined the street the dock was attached to. Only a few other people had disembarked—most, apparently, were heading to Arctic Village, the boat's next stop.

"Why are we even stopping here?" Mel asked. "There's no gym. Shouldn't we just keep going to Artemis Town?" Erin and I exchanged knowing looks.

"Training," I said curtly. By my feet, Apple nodded in agreement.

"Hey, you guys didn't wait for me!" Jake jogged down the aluminum ramp, his blond hair staying in gelled spikes despite the wind.

"Quick, let's go before he can catch up," I muttered and started walking towards the street.

"What's so bad about Jake?" Mel asked, doing a bit of a hop-skip to catch up and walk beside me. When he almost stepped on Apple, she tried to hit his shins with an iron tail, but he turned his legs momentarily intangible.

"Why does he even wanna travel with us?" Erin asked on the other side of me.

Suddenly, there was pressure on my shoulder. "We're all going the same place," Jake said. He had one arm slung over my shoulder and one over Erin's. "Plus… err, I kinda need your help, Anita, for Artemis's gym…"

I pushed Jake's arm off of me. "Why would you—" I stopped walking just before we reached the street and turned around. "Hey, where'd Liam go?"

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

{That pink wig lady was creepy.}

I grinned, looking down at Apple as she trotted by my feet, happy I was starting to hear her thoughts more clearly. After wandering around the eerily quiet town for an hour, we still hadn't found Liam. We did, however, stumble across the Pokemon Center, which was run by a wrinkled old lady wearing too much eye shadow and a pink wig. The lady had informed us that the Pokemon Center—a small stone hut that was indistinguishable from every other stone hut on the street, except for a wooden sign—was too small to accommodate overnight visitors.

"What are you so happy about?" Erin asked, slowing her pace beside me as we turned a corner onto a side street. "Tweal hasn't come back from searching for Liam yet, now we don't have a place to sleep, and" she turned around and waved at Jake, who was walking with Mel a few yards behind them, "we have to deal with him." She stopped walking and sat down on the curb. "Ugh."

I sat down next to Erin. "Liam missing isn't a bad thing." Suddenly, Apple poked a paw at my leg. "Huh?"

{…statue…}

I looked at Apple in confusion, and she pointed her tail down the street. The street led to a cul-de-sac dead end, but in the center of the cul-de-sac was a small grass island on which a stone stood carved in the shape of a flame.

I stood up and approached the statue. At the base of the stone flame was a slab of stone with the words "In memory of those who perished in the fire of October 22, 2005." Underneath, there were a dozen names listed. I briefly remember the article I had read in Tinted Town's museum. There was a sudden heaviness in my chest—a guilt.

{This is where I was born. Those are the people I killed.} Apple sat between me and the statue, her ears drooped. She looked up at me. The regretful anger in her eyes made me flinch, and I suddenly realized the guilt I was feeling was her guilt.

{It's not your fault.}

"What's that?" Erin asked from behind me. I shrugged.

"Hey, guys!" Mel yelled from down the street. "Look who we found!"

I looked over my shoulder past Erin. At the corner of the street, Mel and Jake stood next to Liam and a girl with long black hair I didn't recognize. I noticed Liam's eyes were focused on me, narrowed.

{Play it cool,} I told Apple. {Act happy.} I tried to send Apple a surge of happiness with that last thought, but I wasn't sure if it worked.

"Where'd you go?" Erin yelled as we jogged to reach the group. "We've been looking all over."

"And who's she?" I added, stopping my jog abruptly in front of Liam. I was disappointed when he didn't flinch, not that I really expected him to.

The girl who stood next to Liam was tall and slender. Her hair fell straight down her back perfectly smooth to her hips, reflecting a dark purple in the sunlight—the color of a raven's feathers. She wore a knee length black skirt and a button-down yellow blouse. Her face was narrow. For a brief moment, I could've sworn I saw something like hatred in her eyes as she looked at me, but when I blinked the expression was gone, replaced with a bemused smile.

"This is Lily," Liam said. "She's a friend of the family from long ago."

Lily held out her hand and continued smiling. I took it, grumbling, "Anita." Then I shot at Liam, "Who knew you actually had a family?" while Erin introduced herself.

"Lily lives and works in Vintage Village's orphanage," Liam said. "We're welcome to stay there overnight. The Pokemon Center in this town is too small."

"We know that, no thanks to you," I said. "You know, you could've told us where you were going."

"Aw, were you worried?" Liam asked sarcastically.

"More like ecstatic."

Lily frowned at me. "Just ignore them," Erin said. "Which way's the orphanage? Lead the way."

I scooped up Apple in my arms as we started walking. {You okay?}

I didn't hear a response, but Apple nodded.

Jake scrambled around Mel, who was kicking a stone as he walked, to the front next to Lily. "So, Lily, how long have you lived here?" He walked with his hands in his jean pockets, with a bit of a swagger. I snorted.

Jake turned his head around to glare at me while Lily answered, "My whole life."

Erin and I caught each other's eyes and struggled not to laugh.

"Would you like to speed up to have a… quieter chat?" Jake asked, holding out his arm for Lily.

"Uh, no thanks." Lily turned to her other side and took Liam's arm. I was surprised Liam let her. "I'm good."

Jake signed dejectedly and let Mel pass him. He turned to me. "You know, this is your fault."

"Right."

"No, seriously. Every time I'm around you, girls just don't flock to be basked in my awesomeness. You scare them away!"

"Have you ever considered, Jake, that maybe they just don't like you? What with your tact and modesty—"

"Geeze, does she argue with _everyone_?" Lily said loudly.

This girl's only known me for what? Two minutes? "Geeze, are you always a bit—"

"Anita!" Erin said, nodding her head toward Mel.

"What? I was just going to ask if she was always a bit cheery. Bitcheery. Bitch-eery."

Apple rolled her eyes at me. Whatever. Something was up with that girl. When she wasn't touching Liam, I sensed a sting of emotion aimed toward me—loathing and sadness. If I could barely hear Apple's thoughts, the fact that I could feel the emotions of this girl I barely knew meant that the emotions had to be strong.

After a few more minutes of walking, we arrived at the first building I had seen that did not resemble every other building in the town. "This is the orphanage," Lily said. While the orphanage was still made of stone, it was about six times the size of any of the other stone houses. There were several windows lining the front of the building, and I could hear laughing coming from the backyard. Lily led us to the front door. "We've got about eight other kids right now, but can accommodate twenty."

The inside of the orphanage was a lot more comfortable than I expected. As we followed Lily through the house, I noticed everything was in pristine condition— not a scratch on the hall floor, not a speck of dust on the living room shelves, and not even a stain on the kitchen counter. The kitchen table was already set for fifteen, and steaming pots of vegetables, rice, and some sort of stew had been placed in the center of the table.

"Lunch time!" I heard someone call. An elderly woman walked into the kitchen wearing faded pink slippers and a white bathrobe. Similar to the old lady running the Pokemon Center, this woman's face resembled crackling plaster.

{What's with this town and old women wearing way too much makeup?} I said to Apple.

"Oh good, you're back with your friends just in time for lunch, Lily." The old woman gestured from us to the kitchen table. "Please take a seat. My name is Helen, but you can call me Gran." Helen's dark brown eyes zeroed in on Apple, who was still lying in my arms. "No Pokemon in the house. You can let the Eevee out in the backyard. In fact, you can all let your Pokemon out in the backyard with the others… Here, follow me. Those damn munchkins should be in here by now anyway."

We walked through what seemed to be another wide living room. Three long grey couches faced a flat screen television that rested atop a wooden cabinet. On either side of the cabinet there were tall bookshelves, lined with books in perfect condition. The back of the room was made entirely of window sliding doors.

There was a large grey cat on one of the couches, lazily watching us as we walked through the room. Slightly unnerved, I looked away. Unlike the other parts of the house, this room smelled a bit like cat.

Through the sliding doors, I could see the orphanage's enormous, fenced-in backyard. It had to be as big as a Pokemon arena. Most of the yard was made of short cut grass, but there was a woodchip-covered area in the back right corner on top of which was a jungle gym. Several kids were climbing on the jungle gym when Helen opened one of the sliding doors and yelled, "No lunch for anyone who's not sitting at the table in the next thirty seconds!"

The kids raised their heads, jumped off of the monkey bars, swings, and plastic platforms, and ran toward the door. After all eight kids entered the house noisily, Helen whistled and held a hand over her eyes, looking into the bright sky. Suddenly, a Farfetch'd landed at her feet.

"This is Simon," Helen said. "He looks after the kids, and he'll look after your Pokemon." Helen nodded to herself. "He'll make sure nobody gets out and nothing gets in."

Apple jumped out of my arms, landing right in front of Simon. Startled, the Farfetch'd smashed his stick down on Apple's head. Of course, a wild chase involving Apple launching herself off of the swings and roof at Simon ensued.

Mel, Jake, Erin, and I released our Pokemon. Splash and Tweal immediately joined Apple in her endeavor to catch the Farfetch'd, while most of the other Pokemon lounged about the yard, enjoying the sun. Only Missy took to scaring Jake's Pokemon, who were unaware of her devious tendencies. Jake's Floatzel, which I hadn't known he had, drenched the entire playground with a whirlpool and nearly ran into the fence when Missy whispered, "Boo" in her ear.

"What about yours?" Helen asked Liam.

"Mine haven't been released in over two years," Liam replied.

Helen nodded. "Well, back to the kitchen, all of you." She gave Mel and Jake, who were closest to her, a gentle push back towards the kitchen. She noticed the grey cat lying on the couch. "Lily, don't forget to feed Dewy. You're the one who wanted to keep that good-for-nothing stray cat."

"Anita, I called Abalina. Your turn to talk to Helen," Erin murmured as we entered the kitchen and Lily scampered off to fill Dewy's food bowl.

The eight other orphanage kids were already digging into the food, clanging forks against plates loudly and barking at each other to pass whatever dish was out of reach. I counted three girls and five boys. The oldest of the eight was a boy with sandy locks of hair who looked about Mel's age.

I purposefully sat near the head of the table, away from the kids, where I thought Helen might sit. Lily sat across from me after setting aside a grey bowl full of tuna for the cat, Liam sat next to Lily, and Erin next to me. Mel had already started talking with the sandy-haired kid, and Jake was reaching across the table to get some rice.

My stomach growled impatiently, but I sat back in my chair. The food would get to this side of the table eventually. I craned my head around to see what Helen was up to and if she'd be sitting down any time soon so we could talk, but she was washing dishes by the sink. When I turned back toward the table, I found Lily staring at me.

The same prickling feeling I had this morning crept into my stomach, and suddenly I didn't feel like eating. Maybe this feeling had to do with Lily? I tried to focus on her thoughts and emotions, but I didn't sense any of the hatred I'd felt earlier.

I frowned. Only Lily's right hand was on the table. Liam's right hand was also out of sight. Maybe I couldn't feel anything because they were holding hands. I reached my mind out to Erin's.

{Do they have a thing going? They said family friends, but—}

I almost fell out of my chair. Apple had said I'd recover my power, or at least that's what I thought she'd been trying to say, but I hadn't expected to hear Erin's thoughts so clearly.

I narrowed my eyes at Lily. I bet they were holding hands. "So," I said. "You and Liam have known each other a while?"

Liam and Lily exchanged sidelong glances. "Not really," Lily said. "Our families knew each other when we were much younger. We met only briefly."

"So Liam's lived here?"

"No," Liam said curtly.

"Where are you from?" Lily asked suddenly.

"Melonbi Town."

"How long have _you_ lived in Acceber?" She sounded like she was interrogating me, as if I'd strangled her cat.

"Um, six years."

"Where'd you live before that?"

The brussel sprouts had finally made their way to me. I only scooped a few onto my plate, having lost my appetite. Lily clenched her fork tightly, almost stabbing the table. I didn't think she was _that_ hungry…

"Where'd you live?" Lily repeated. Liam gave her a sharp look.

"What's your problem?" I asked. "Seriously, what'd I even do to you?"

Lily's eyebrows shot up. Erin and Jake, who'd been talking, became quiet. Liam muttered, "Girls…"

Lily took the bowl from me and jabbed at a brussel sprout with a fork. "Let's have a Pokemon battle," she said.

"I don't think that's going to solve whatever issue you have with me."

"After lunch."

"Do you even have Pokemon?" I asked. "I didn't see any in the backyard."

"One on one."

Whatever. If she wanted a battle, I'd give her one. "Alright, psycho, you're on."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"This is an emergency meeting," I declared, looking at the small camera at the top of the screen. The screen was divided into nine different sections, in a three by three formation. The middle miniature screen was black. I watched as my image in the top, center screen echoed my declaration. The system had a slight delay. Now my image was looking up. I frowned at the wrinkles I could see deepening around my violet eyes; I wasn't getting any younger.

"We know this, Tamara. Get on with it," Dustin said. In a screen to the right of mine, he rested his head on a balled up fist.

{As if that seventeen-year-old snot had somewhere better to be. Honestly, I don't know how we agreed to institute him as a gym leader—}

{Quiet, Espeon,} I said. I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering the Mendol boy's face. So serious for one so young. I willed myself to tell the other gym leaders about his surprise visit last night. I opened my mouth—

And nothing happened.

{Tamara, we've already tried this. It won't work with the Spiritomb around… wherever it is.}

"What Tamara is failing to say," Nai snapped, her grey eyes narrowed. "is that Mendol was spotted in Winsk City the other day. I chased after him—he left a pretty clear trail of footprints—but they disappeared after less than half a mile. Where his footprints stopped, Weavile footprints were found approaching his final footprint and then heading back the same direction." That wasn't at all what I was attempting to convey, but I had no way of conveying my newfound information.

"He has a Honchrow, he probably flew away with that—"

"Why would he be in Winsk—"

"It probably wasn't even him—"

"Does he even have a Weavile?"

"SHUT UP!" Aden yelled, fire coming out of his ears. Everyone was quiet. "Dustin, if Nai says she saw Mendol, she saw Mendol. No reason for her to lie and she wouldn't tell us if she wasn't sure. And Abalina, he's a master of dark Pokemon. Of course he—"

"While we don't know if Mendol has a Weavile," Kyle interrupted. His voice was calm, almost soothing. His Vaporeon, Tounsil, peeked up from behind his head. "What Aden is suggesting is that with his dark Pokemon bond it would be unsurprising if the Weavile helped him get away."

Abalina nodded, her cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment.

Nai nodded. "We followed the Weavile footprints, but they disappeared into a wooded area. We've been unable to locate Mendol or the Weavile."

As Tali spoke in the screen below her brother's, her short light brown hair bobbed. "We do know he has a Honchrow. Why wouldn't he have flown away on that?"

Nobody had an answer.

Sparky, who had been unusually quiet, said, "Pickles."

I looked at the old man in disbelief. Sparky had always been…eccentric, but unlike some of the younger gym leaders, I'd seen his serious side. I'd seen him bury his dead Raichu; I'd seen him single-handedly take down a Team Glop'emm hideout; I'd seen him prevent a man's suicide.

Then again, we hadn't had a serious situation since Mendol senior had died.

Dustin rolled his eyes. "I'm out. This is retarded." Dustin's screen went dark.

"Sparky, why—" I started.

A spark danced across Sparky's grey hair. "Don't go blaming me for that lad's lack of respect. I was just pointing out that we're in quite a pickle. The very same pickle, in fact, that we were in prior to this meeting. The lad has a good point."

The only sound in the room was the soft buzz of the screen's fan. Finally, I said, "We can only keep looking for him."

Nai and Aden nodded in agreement.

"There's something else we need to talk about," Abalina said, running a hand through her long brown hair. "I got a call today from Erin Kendle, a girl travelling with the psychic gifted trainer, Anita Parkwood. They've been traveling with another gifted child named Melvin we had not known about—a young gifted child with no parents. He has a ghost gift, and I believe one of us needs to care for him and teach him. He is only eight."

"Oh, I know him," Sparky said, laughing. "We had some good times two days ago…"

"Why didn't you inform—" Nai started.

"Actually, I was thinking about adopting him."

Everyone was suddenly very quiet.

Aden broke the tension, chuckling while running a hand through his short red hair. "Oh, the old man's such a riot, right?" Nobody else laughed.

"I've never thought about kids before, but this Mel kid… well, he was quite something. He reminded me of myself when I was his age, and then I started teaching him... I talked to Cape Caution's Nurse Joy, and she seemed fairly certain the boy was going to be dropped off at the Vintage Village orphanage. Plus, I'm getting pretty old. One day I'll need a successor…"

Nai shook her head of grey streaked hair. "You can't actually expect us to believe you'd raise a child. That you are qualified to raise a gifted child."

Aden stopped chortling. "He's serious?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Dustin would agree this is a bad idea," Tali said, playing with a lock of sandy hair. "He can't be a parent—he practically acts like a rebellious teenager."

"You don't have to be qualified to be a parent," Kyle said quietly. "And who else would look after him? Are any of the rest of us ready to take on the responsibility of a gifted child?"

I nodded in agreement. Beneath Sparky's goofy façade was a very caring, intelligent, and playful man.

"We should take it to a vote," Nai snapped.

"We're leading a region, not people's lives," Abalina retorted. "Who are we to determine whether Sparky should be able to adopt a child?"

"A gifted child," Tali said. "It's our duty not only to lead Acceber, but to ensure that all gifted children are taught to control their gift."

I cleared my throat and asked, "All those in favor of Sparky teaching this gifted child through whatever means he feels are appropriate, raise your hand."

"Sparky doesn't know the meaning of the word appropriate," Nai grumbled as Sparky, Abalina, Kyle, and I raised our hands. Aden hesitantly put a hand in the air after a moment as well. "That's the clear majority," I said.

Suddenly, Sparky jumped up faster than I'd ever seen a man his age move. "Whoo!" he yelled, running off the screen. A door slammed.

For a moment, we all watched Sparky's screen, eyebrows furrowed.

"Err, well then. That concludes the meeting."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I narrowed my eyes. The Farfetch'd was sitting on top of the monkey bars.

"What's the plan?" Splash asked me, also watching the bird Pokemon.

Between us and the Farfetch'd, Griffy was refereeing a game of soccer played with an old faded rubber ball Tweal had found and picked up in a neighboring yard. On one team was Allo, Sunflower, and Tweal. They were up against Jake's Quilava, Floatzel, and a strange looking grass Pokemon I'd never seen before, apparently called Petilil. It blended in with the shrubs that lined the wooden fence so well I hadn't even noticed it until it moved to join the game.

How the grass Pokemon even moved was beyond me. It didn't have arms or legs and more or less resembled an onion with a face. To join the game, it had kind of flapped the bottom part of its body and inched its way across the grass. Had Quilava and Floatzel actually had a Pokemon on their team that could move, they'd probably far outmatch Allo and Sunflower's team. As it was, the match was pretty even.

Whatever the case, to get to Farfetch'd, we'd have to maneuver through their field. I watched as Sunflower kicked the ball up to Tweal… Perhaps I could iron tail the ball hard enough to knock the Farfetch'd right off his perch—

"Apple." I turned around. Fiery was standing behind me, his ears pointed forward. "Apple, we need to talk."

"Sure," I said. "After I bite this Farfetch'd—"

Fiery's nose twitched in annoyance. "No, we need to talk now."

"Well, we're talking."

Fiery's eyes flickered to Splash, who was still gazing intently at the Farfetch'd. "We need to talk somewhere more private."

Splash's ears suddenly twitched back toward Fiery. "Don't be a spoilsport, Fiery! We were just about—"

"Enough," Fiery growled. He released a small ember at my feet, which I avoided by jumping back. "Let's go." He took off in a quick attack toward the empty back left corner of the backyard.

"Sorry, Splash," I said and took off running after the Flareon. What could this be about? I grinned. Maybe he was about to confess his long overdue, undying love for me—

We reached the fence. I sat down and began licking my paw. "So what's up?" I asked.

"We haven't talked since after your disappearance."

"And?"

"And, I wanted to let you know that you put on a good show, but I'm not fooled."

I stopped licking my paw. "Huh?"

"You're not an Eevee."

I snorted. "What have you been smokin'? Do you see the ears? The paws?" I waved my tail. "My beautiful, fluffy tail—"

Fiery stood up, towering over me. He took a step forward. I stepped back, toward the fence corner. He took another step forward. I lit up my tail, refusing to back up further. "You don't scare me."

"You may be able to convince two month old Eevees that you didn't actually disappear, that they just missed the hole you dug in the ground out of Sparky's gym, but you can't fool me. Vanilla and Splash are more observant than they give themselves credit for. Splash remembers a green flash of light. He said so when I first asked what happened, before you fed them this 'I dug a hole' bullshit." Fiery's fur bristled. "They wouldn't believe you if they weren't so young. They wouldn't buy into this hole nonsense when they didn't even see a gaping hole in the ground. It wasn't until after you fed them that lie that Vanilla thought she might've seen a dark crevice in the corner of the room, that Splash was sure he must have imagined the light, that he had to have been bored and daydreaming."

I stayed silent, unsure of how to react. I curled my claws into the ground.

"Anita was terrified when you were gone, you know. I think the lack of telepathy with you was painful. You two share a strong psychic connection. I know you've lived with her for most of her life, but how'd she figure out how to use her powers? And could she have used her powers when she was younger?"

"You don't know anything about the gift."

"Ah, but see, you do." I was overheating—my breath felt dry and my fur heavy. Fiery was much too close to me. "I've heard you; I've even seen you instruct Anita. I doubt anyone who wasn't an Eevee would notice, but the way you hold yourself, the warning looks you give Anita, the way you wave your tail impatiently when she screws up making her psychic barrier, your cockiness, the ridiculous pranks you play—more over the top than Splash's—these are all very un-Eevee-like characteristics."

I gave in and took another step back, snatching a breath of fresh, cool air.

Fiery tilted his head. "So Apple, what are you?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Just when Apple ditched me for Fiery, the sliding doors slammed open. Anita marched into the backyard with that look in her eyes that made me think she might accidently shatter the glass sliding doors with her crazy psychic stuff. I smiled. That would be so cool!

Behind Anita, another girl with angry eyes and dark hair walked out of the orphanage. Actually, she wasn't quite angry; her face reminded me of Apple when she saw someone with a hotdog—determined and pretty much obsessively focused.

Liam, Jake, and Erin followed the two girls warily, followed by a bunch of kids cheering, "Battle! Battle!" Mel was with the kids.

I skipped toward Anita. Battling would be more fun than chasing the Farfetch'd. And Anita would definitely pick me because Apple and all of my siblings were busy, unless you didn't count Vanilla lying in the sun as busy.

Anita, however, brushed past me when I reached her feet. {I want to battle!} I yelled. I wasn't sure if she'd hear me—her psychic powers had gone wonky recently.

Anita looked at the dark haired girl, who was bending over to pick up the weird onion grass Pokemon named Petilil. {…don't need speed.} Anita looked down at me. "Sorry, Splash. You got to participate in the last gym battle. Allo, let's go!"

Allo's ears pricked, and he bounded toward Anita. Great, now the teams for the soccer game were even again. If I wanted to play, I'd have to convince someone else to play too…

I looked over my shoulder at Fiery and Apple, huddled in the back corner of the yard. Seriously, why would Apple pick talking with my stupid older brother over catching a Farfetch'd with me? If you ranked playing with me and talking with Fiery on a scale of funness, I'd win 'cause my games were overstuffed with fun.

"This'll be a one-on-one match, Lily Smith versus Anita Parkwood," Erin announced. Sunflower, Tweal, Quill (the stuck up Quilava) and Floatzel all stopped playing to watch the battle. Griffy watched from behind the group of kids, and the Farfetch'd swooped down from the playground, landing on a curly haired kid's shoulder.

Even Missy was watching while she hovered behind Jake and blew on his neck. Every time Jake turned around she'd disappear.

I looked around the yard. Great, now there was really no one to play with. The only Pokemon that weren't watching the battle were Apple and Fiery, Vanilla—and everyone knows she's no fun—Wella, who glared at me from the shade of a tree when I looked at her, and Jake's Diglett, who I hadn't seen since she buried underground after being let out of her Pokeball.

"Allo, quick attack!"

"Petilil, leech seed!"

There were too many kids and Pokemon blocking my view of the battle now. Whatever. I ran around the crowd. The old lady in charge of this place was standing in the doorway of an open sliding door. She was watching Mel thoughtfully.

Suddenly, I smiled. Exploration time!

I edged along the outside of the house, just below the sliding doors. Wella, who was the only Pokemon that might've spotted me, was now snoozing against a tree trunk. Quietly, making sure I didn't accidently brush the old lady's legs, I slipped through the sliding door doorway into the house.

Immediately, my nose wrinkled. It smelled like cat.

I looked around the room. I liked the feel of the long carpet between my paws, but there wasn't much to do except smell the old-paper-smell of the books.

I spotted a wooden staircase. The stairs were a bit worn—there were lots of scratches on them, probably from the cat. I started up the stairs when I heard a hiss. I looked up. The cat that was stinking up the place glared at me from the top of the stairs.

I licked my lips and quick attacked my way up the rest of the stairs, jumping over the cat. The cat turned around, snarling, but I had already taken off, leaping into the first doorway I'd seen on my left. I pushed the door closed with a paw, smiling smugly when I heard scratching on the other side of the door.

Then I realized I wouldn't be able to open the door again. I didn't have opposable thumbs. Oh, well.

This room smelled like cat even more than the living room. The room was so small, I could jump up onto the bed from right in front of the door, and so I did. There was a window overlooking the street at the head of the bed and a closet right up against one side of the bed. On the other side of the bed, there was a dresser. I grinned at my reflection in the mirror above the dresser and had the urge to give myself a congratulatory lick on the face. Thus, I hopped onto the desk and licked the mirror.

Tasted like cat hair. Gross. I lifted a paw up to get down from the dresser, but something was stuck in my nails. I looked down. My nails poked down through a piece of newspaper. I shook my paw off, looking at the picture on the newspaper. In the picture, there was a pile of ash. When I looked closer, lowering my nose to the dresser, there were eyes poking out of the ash pile. Weird.

I lifted my nose up, only to bump a picture frame in front of the mirror. The frame held a photo of two dark haired adults holding a small, dark haired girl. All three people were smiling. The girl looked like the girl battling Anita outside only much younger. This must be her room.

As I moved to get off of my dresser, something gleamed near the edge of the dresser. It was a rock. I moved my tail to let the sunlight hit the rock once again. It sparkled yellow. My eyes widened.

I knew a way to get Anita to use me more in battles.

I leaned forward and licked the stone.

My body tingled.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Anita Parkwood is the winner!" Erin announced. Allo jumped into my arms, and I laughed as he licked my face.

"Nice battle," I said. The orphan kids crowded around me, trying to get a look at Allo.

"She beat Lily—"

"I've never seen an Eevee up close before—"

"Did you see how fast—"

"Can I hold him?" a small girl asked, tugging at my sleeve.

Allo seemed to like the attention so I passed the Eevee to the girl. I looked around the yard. Apple and Fiery were still in the back right corner. I caught Apple's eye and raised my eyebrows at her.

Apple shook her head. I frowned and took a step in her direction. Apple shook her head more fiercely, and Fiery turned around to glare at me. {Is everything okay?} I asked.

{He knows. He knows I'm not an Eevee.}

I froze.

{I told him what I really am. He doesn't believe me.} I gently pushed kids aside to get out of the crowd, toward Apple. {Don't worry. I can handle this. We'll talk later.}

Apple and Fiery turned back to their conversation.

I frowned, thinking. I wasn't sure if Fiery knowing what Apple was would change anything unless Fiery decided Apple was too dangerous to be around. Apple said that he didn't believe her anyway. It would only be a problem if someone were to read Fiery's mind, and even then, the person would have to be looking for it…

Automatically suspicious, I looked around for Liam. He and Lily were nowhere to be seen. Helen was standing in front of the open sliding door. Well, at least now would be a good time to talk to her about Mel.

I passed Erin and Jake, who were arguing.

"Come on, Erin, we had a civil conversation! You can stop being mad at me now!" Jake complained.

"Well, you decided to call my Pokemon an _uncouth, vile-smelling bag of dust_ so I'm not talking to you."

"Your Misdreavious was obnoxiously giving me the chills! How do you expect me to react? And you just talked to me." Jake smiled.

Erin crossed her arms and walked away, towards the playground.

Jake ran after her. "C'mon!"

I rolled my eyes. When I reached the sliding door, Helen moved aside to let me in. She was watching the orphans, still crowded around Allo. "Uh… Helen?"

"Oh, yes dear?" Helen moved her soft brown eyes to me.

"I wanted to talk to you about Mel. See, he'd—"

"No need to worry about that, dear. I already have it taken care of."

"You do?"

"Yes. A gym leader is coming to adopt him tomorrow morning."

Feeling slightly awkward, I moved inside the house. "Okay, then. Thanks." Mel, leaving? Already? I knew we'd have to do it, I just didn't expect it to come this fast. I looked out a closed sliding door window. Mel was showing off Sunflower's shadow ball to the other kids. Who would adopt him? Who would adopt him on_ only_ a few hours notice?

An image of Mel laughing and talking with Sparky about incorporating destructive robots into the gym's prelim flashed across my mind.

Sparky.

Mel and Sparky got along. Sparky was crazy enough to make such a life changing decision in mere minutes.

Maybe I should've been freaking out over the possibility of Sparky adopting Mel, but I felt abnormally calm—I could see it happening. I could imagine Sparky teaching Mel, encouraging Mel's creative streak with new pranks, battle techniques, and gym setups.

I wondered how Mel would react. What if he wanted to keep traveling with us?

Suddenly, I heard a voice from the top of the staircase. "Did you see the way she battled?" It was Lily. "She didn't try to drag out the pain, and before the battle she told me that if I needed a potion at any time, to let her know because the Pokemon Center in town didn't look like the greatest." I moved to the bottom of the stairs to hear Lily better. I looked up and saw she was talking to Liam. "All that and I've only acted hostile towards her. I don't believe you. I can't believe she's—" Lily spotted me at the bottom of the staircase. "Oh, hi, Anita. I was just showing Liam where the bathroom was." She pointed down the hall. Liam muttered something under his breath and walked where she was pointing. I climbed the stairs.

"I just wanted to tell you, nice battle," I said. I tried to reach into her mind, but couldn't hear her thoughts. I sighed. At least I was starting to pick up on the thoughts of my friends…

"Thanks. You too." Lily put a hand on the doorknob of a room on the left. "Look, I'm really sorry about earlier… Liam told me some things and… I'm sorry." Liam told her some things? He told her about my psychic powers? Why? He's always so uptight about keeping it a secret. Maybe he told her that I was dangerous? It would explain why she didn't like me…

"It's cool. Liam and I aren't…" I couldn't come up with a good word. "We don't see things the same way. Anyway, where'd you get that grass Pokemon? I'd never seen it before."

Lily looked relieved. She opened her door. "Actually, I got her as a present for my birthday from my aunt who lives in the Unova reg—" Lily stared through her door. I had reached the top of the staircase so I peered over her shoulder.

There was a Jolteon sitting on the bed.

{Look, Anita! I evolved!} Splash said, grinning and shaking his pointy fur.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Lily, I am so sorry," I said, balancing three giant sleeping bags in my arms. I couldn't see over the sleeping bags so I was trusting Lily to tell me if I was about to run into something.

"Again, Anita, don't worry about it. I don't even have an electric Pokemon. I don't need a thunderstone." I heard a door creek open. I looked to my left, out the sliding door window. The sun was setting and most of our Pokemon were curled up, lying on top of each other in the backyard. I noticed Apple and Fiery were on opposite sides of the group. Between the afternoon battle and dinner, I hadn't found time to talk to Apple alone. I'd have to sneak out in the middle of the night. "Okay," Lily said. "There're some stairs ahead of you leading to the basement. Watch your step."

Lily led me down the stairs. The basement smelled slightly musky, but the floor was carpeted and there were two small windows near the ceiling allowing the last of the setting sun's light to trickle across the floor.

"Seriously, Lily, if there's anything I can do to repay you—besides actually repaying you in money 'cause I don't have any—I'll do it." We laid the sleeping bags out on the floor.

Lily smiled, putting a hand on her hip. "Well, I guess if you really wanted to, you could help me convince the others to play truth or dare!"

"Deal."

And so Lily and I dragged Erin, Jake, Liam, Mel, and Freddie, the sandy-haired eight-year-old Mel had become fast friends with, down into the basement. I was dared to put ice cubes down Liam's shirt, Mel had to talk about the time he'd convinced a woman she had a third leg, Erin and Jake ended up having to play leap frog for forty minutes, and Lily kissed Liam on the cheek, making him blush. Laughter rang about basement until Helen opened the basement door to yell at us for waking the younger kids.

Even after, giggles could be heard well into the night.

/ / / / / / / / /

I was about to get up to talk to Apple when I heard a tapping sound. I had been fake sleeping for almost an hour and a half now. Erin had tossed and turned for quite a while, but now I could hear her soft snores. She was asleep, just like everyone else.

I peeked an eye open, only to see two bright green eyes reflecting at me. Quickly, I closed my eye, steadying my breathing. I listened the best I could for any movement.

I heard the tapping again. Then there was the creak of the door at the top of the stairs. Then nothing.

I opened my eye again and sat up. Erin was curled up in her sleeping bag, next to me. On the other side of her was Lily, whose hand was almost touching Freddie's. Mel slept on the other side of me, murmuring incomprehensibly and rolling over. Jake slept across from me, near the window, and Liam…

Liam was missing from his sleeping bag.

I pushed aside my sleeping bag, cringing every time it wrinkled. Luckily, I was close to the basement stairs so I didn't have to step over anyone. I started up the stairs, holding my breath when one of the stairs creaked.

I couldn't stop the basement door from creaking when I opened it, but I only opened it as much as necessary for me to slip through.

I looked around the living room and out the sliding doors. Nothing seemed amiss.

There was one tap—then silence. It was coming from the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen. Dewy, the cat, watched me from atop the kitchen table. Could the sound have been the cat? Down in the basement, it sounded like the tapping was coming from outside.

I was too short to see out the window above the kitchen sink so I climbed up onto the counter. I peered into the night.

Liam stood in a baggy t-shirt Helen had lent him with his back to the orphanage. In front of Liam was a Noctowl.

In one hand, Liam held a letter. Despite the darkness, he seemed to be reading it. There was something in Liam's other hand that glittered in the moonlight. I couldn't make out many details, but it seemed to be composed of a blue spark between two strands of metal.

Liam dropped the letter. He touched the device in his hand to the Noctowl as casually as if he was about to stroke one of the Noctowl's feathers.

Suddenly, the Noctowl screeched. There was flash of blue light, and then the Noctowl was shrinking. There was a pink blob where the Noctowl had been standing just moments before.

A Ditto.

Liam could force Pokemon to transform.


	38. Mendol Muddle

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hello, readers! Hope you all are have a great summer. A lot have stuff in this story has been building up lately, and I think this chapter brings things just a litter bit more together. It's kind of ironic that it's now this chapter is posted- in less than an hour, I will no longer be a teenager. Weird turning points. Anyway...

obsessed-beyond-reason2001- You'll see. :) Also, can I just call you OBR or something? Your name is so long!

ChaosAngel4us- Yay 'bout FMA! No matter what happens to Mel, he will not be dropping out of the story. I'm way too attached.

The One Nobody Remembers- Glad you're enjoying the story. My editor and I were soooo happy you found the website useful! I'll have to tell my editor to keep updating it! For those who don't know, my editor turned the April Fool's Day website from a couple chapters ago into an info website for this story. Check it out!

A SUPER thanks to my editor for putting up with me through this chapter. Lots and lots of revisions._  
_

And of course, thank you readers! It's you people who keep me writing.

Without further ado..._  
_

_Previously on An Apple A Day:_

Anita, Erin, Jake, Mel, and Liam arrive in Vintage Village, and decide to spend the night with Liam's family friend, Lily Smith, who lives in an orphanage. This works out nicely because Mel is to be adopted (Its technically illegal for kids under the age of thirteen to be traveling without adult supervision). During the stay at the orphanage, Fiery confronts Apple, saying he know Apple is not an Eevee and asks what, exactly, she is. When she tells him she's Mew, he doesn't believe her. Splash finds a lightening stone on Lily's desk and evolves into Jolteon.

Meanwhile, the gym leaders are attempting to track the missing dark gym leader, last seen by ice gym leader Nai Shivicle in Winsk City. Sparky, the electric gym leader wants to adopt Mel.

Jamie Arkle, assistant to the Master, was spotted by Liam on his way to Hoenn. He is supposedly burying his dead mother. Rita Teal is temporarily left in charge of Team Glop'emm, and the Master is still researching how to destroy Mew.

In the middle of the night, Anita hears something outside. When she looks, she sees Liam using a device to force a Ditto to transform.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 35: Mendol Muddle

Skampi dove from the air back onto my shoulder as I walked through the Slateport City market. A crowd of people bustled about me—businessmen in dark suits muttering into phones, young women admiring vendors' jewelry, children weaving between legs playing tag. Skampi pointed a wing to my right, and I immediately turned in the direction the Togekiss was pointing, knocking a kid down onto the gravel ground.

I kept walking. The crowd was moving perpendicular to me.

"Getch'ya Calcium on sale. Getch'ya Calcium!" a woman wearing a repugnant stained apron yelled from behind a wooden stand. "You, sir, with the strange white Pokemon on your shoulder—"

I sneered at the woman and she fell silent.

"Hey, you hear a ship came in from Acceber today breaking another record time?" Two men in matching clean-cut beige work uniforms fell in step behind me. The one closer to my left said, "I'm telling you, whoever came up with the idea to use Starmie as a physical, psychic, and water propulsion system was a genius. The ships can travel in a few hours what used to take days!"

"Yeah, I hear that ship was one of Devon Corporation's prototypes."

Please. These people had no idea of the advancements in Pokemon technology systems. If it weren't for power source costs, there'd be teleportation devices between each region.

Just as I was exiting the market area, I felt a tug on my pants. Why wouldn't these irritating people leave me alone? A small girl with curly pigtails stood by my legs. "What type of Pokemon is _that_?" she asked. The girl's legs were so thin I thought they could snap at any moment. I was tempted to kick her knees to find out.

Instead, I brushed past the girl out of the market and strode down less crowded the street.

Information in Hoenn apparently was more readily available than information in Acceber. All of Slateport City's records were conveniently stored in public databases located within the city hall, which was open twenty-four seven. There were only four men with the last name Mendol living in the city, only one of which had lived here more than four years.

"Toge!"

I stopped walking. In front of me was a brick building covered in large, glass windows. A sign in front of the building read, "Devon Corporation." I reached into my pocket, unfolded, and smoothed the small piece of paper I had written the address on. Yes, this is where Don Mendol worked.

I returned Skampi to his Pokeball, and released Porygon2. "Have the video of Liam Mendol and his DNA sequence acquired by Carly Goldenthrill ready for comparison," I ordered, holding out my wrist.

Porygon2 nodded and its body narrowed as it warped into the PokeTech on my wrist, a device invented by Devon Corporation.

Team Glop'emm's obnoxious head of research had modified the PokeTech to have both a DNA and image scanner, making the little device twice as useful and probably more expensive than the money put into the record-breaking ship I'd sailed here on. Of course, I'd never admit aloud that the bitch had actually created something beneficial.

I entered the building and located the directory behind the ostentatious fountain in the lobby and located Don Mendol's office in the directory by the stairs.

As I climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, dragging my fingers across the roughly painted handrail, I wondered if this Don Mendol really could be related to the Master. Perhaps he'd know the Master's whereabouts.

Or if he was close enough to the Master, he could be a useful hostage at some point. Unlikely—the Master didn't appear to care about anyone—except for his detective, maybe. He seemed to trust the twerp, at the very least. Another viable hostage.

I had been surprised to see Liam Mendol as I left Vintage Village. Was the Master having him watch me?

Yes, I would definitely ask about Liam Mendol and his relationship with the Master. The Master had said they were related, and their green eyes indicated that this might be the case. Why would he even mention the fact that they were related in the first place? To explain the Master's unusual trust?

Whatever the case, if Don Mendol was in fact a relative of the Master, he would surely have useful information. Knowing an enemy thoroughly was the only way to bring about defeat.

It wasn't long before I located Don Mendol's office on the fourth floor. A woman with thick arms sat at the secretary's desk typing on a computer. She seemed to radiate a syrupy rose stench.

"Excuse me, Miss…" My eyes roamed her desk for a name. When none was found, I gave her a brief smile. "I'd like to see Don Mendol."

The secretary didn't look up from her computer. "He's not here. Would you like to make an appointment for next week?"

"Where is he?"

"Rustburo. He's returning tomorrow morning, but obviously he won't be in on a Saturday. Now, would you like to make an appointment for next week?"

I looked past the woman to Don's office. My eyes narrowed in on a picture frame hanging directly next to the door. I walked around the secretary's desk to get a closer look. She gave me a fleeting glance, then snorted and turned back to her computer.

In the photograph there were six people standing in front of a fireplace. I immediately recognized Velcan Mendol though I had only seen his face a handful of times. By the time I met him, he had wrinkles in the corners of his eyes and looked far more worn. Of course, I remembered him most vividly as I saw him through my Hypno's mind just before she killed him—his chest rising and falling rapidly in his sleep, as if he knew he was about to die.

At least I knew now that this Don Mendol was indeed related to the Master.

Next to Velcan was another woman. She was wearing a light green dress and had an arm hooked around Velcan's. I recognized her round face and grey-green eyes from a picture I'd occasionally seen on Velcan's desk. This was his wife.

Don must be the man on the far right with a mustache wearing a sports jacket. I assumed the brown-haired woman next to him was his wife.

Between the two couples were two toddlers, who could have been twins. Both had black hair and bright green eyes. Liam Mendol and the Master?

"Porygon2," I murmured, holding my PokeTech up to scan the frame and indicating my Pokemon should begin the comparative picture analysis with previous snapshots taken of Liam Mendol.

"Office is closing," the secretary said pointedly. I imagined turning around and bashing her head into the computer until I couldn't see where the computer started and her chin ended. Ignoring the urge, I left the office without a word.

My PokeTech beeped as I walked down the hall. _Analysis Complete._ I examined the results.

That couldn't be right.

Tomorrow, I'd have to have a word with Don Mendol.

o o o o o o o o o o o

"Shit, shit, shit," I swore, stumbling away from the window. Liam had some whacked device that could untransform Pokemon. He _had_ to be chasing Mew.

_Okay, Anita, think._ I had to stay calm and get Apple out of here. {Apple,} I called, sending my mind into the backyard. {Wake up. Liam knows you're Mew—I'll explain everything, but we have to leave now. Get Fiery and the other Eevees. Actually, on second thought, stay where you are. I'll come to you in a minute.}

{Wha—Anita?}

{You heard me, Apple. And be quiet. There can't be any noise that Liam might hear—he's in the front yard now. One minute, Apple.}

I scrambled to the basement door, crept down the stairs, and grabbed my pack. On my way back up the stairs, I reached my mind to check if the Ditto was still outside. If the Pokemon was, Liam would be, too. As soon as my mind touched the Ditto's, I doubled over in pain—my head spun, knives sticking through my chest. I leaned against the wall, drawing back my mind. It was the Ditto's pain. Forced transformation, apparently, was painful.

Breathing heavily, I pushed off the wall and continued up the stairs. I immediately made for the sliding doors, but paused when I saw Lily's cat, Dewey. As the cat's eyes followed me across the room, an idea came to me.

It wouldn't do to underestimate Liam. I wasn't sure if he'd be able to hear the sliding doors open or my steps on the grass, but he could be ridiculously observant. I needed a distraction.

I'd never tried this before, but if I could mess with human dreams and walk around in Apple's head, giving instinctive suggestions to an animal didn't seem too far of a stretch. I only hoped my powers were working enough to do it.

I touched my mind to Dewey's, imagining Liam shaking two cooked fish in front of him outside. I imagined the smoky scent and tried to enforce the idea that these fish would be mouthwateringly delicious. I showed Dewey the route to Liam—from the kitchen into the hallway, and through the little cat flap to the front yard.

When Dewey stared blankly at me for a moment, I thought my plan had failed. Then, with a sharp hiss, Dewey frantically ran to the kitchen. I opened the sliding door only after I heard the cat flap flutter.

I tentatively reached out to the Ditto's mind, prepared to pull out if there was any pain. Through the Ditto's eyes, I saw Liam turning around in surprise as Dewey leapt at him. Grinning, I stepped outside and closed the sliding door. The Pokemon were scattered about the yard, sleeping in clusters. I spotted all of my Pokemon cuddling near the back fence. I shivered slightly at the chilly breeze and pulled out their PokeBalls—except for Apple's, of course, because she didn't have a PokeBall.

Apple perked up her head from behind Fiery. {What are we going to do?}

{First, we just have to get out of here,} I said, running across the yard and returning my Pokemon to their Pokeballs. {Come on. Over the fence.}

Apple took a running start to jump the fence. I climbed over after her, not trusting in my ability to create psychic step barriers despite my earlier successes with telepathy.

{This way, toward the pier,} I said, taking off. I ran like there was a killer chasing us, which very well could be the case when Liam saw we left.

{Anita, we need a plan.}

{Find a ship or water Pokemon heading away from Vintage Villiage and leave.} My feet pounded against the gravel. The impact strained my knees so I widened my stride, trying to take fewer steps.

{That makes us look a hundred percent suspicious. Plus, then what about Erin and Mel? You can't just leave and not tell them anything.}

{If it keeps you safe, I can. We can go hide out somewhere and train 'til we know you're strong enough to take down Liam and anyone else who wants to capture and destroy or use you. We can start in Apoosh forest—}

{Okay, first of all, what proof do you have that Liam wants to destroy me—}

I showed Apple what I'd seen through the window. {He's obviously been tracking you. And now he can untransform you with that…thingy! What else could he want besides destroying or using you to get power?} The pier was in sight now, but I couldn't see any people or Pokemon among the docked boats. I turned, dashing down the road that ran alongside the water while Apple easily kept pace beside me.

{While it's highly suspicious that a Ditto delivered that device to him, it might just be something for his research. Plus, even if he knows I'm Mew and that device was delivered to him because of me, that still doesn't mean he wants to destroy me.}

{What else could he want with you?}

{To catch me. I mean, I don't have a Pokeball. And that's pretty common—people trying to find and catch legendaries.}

Panting, I glared at Apple, not even bothering to say the obvious.

{Chill. I'm _your_ Pokemon. Now, back to the subject of what we're doing… We are _not_ going to become hermits in the middle of Apoosh forest. Come up with a better plan. One that involves figuring out what Liam actually wants with me, if I'm what he's actually after.}

{That would involve seeing him again and putting you in danger, which I don't intend to do.}

It was Apple's turn to glare. {Well, you better start intending. Seriously, I'm not living away from hotdogs and air conditioning.}

I looked over the water for any signs of life, but only saw waves splashing gently against the shore. The water sparkled in the moonlight. I looked to my right. We were almost beyond the village, and Mint Mountain towered high above us. The mountain Apple's predecessor fell from, where he burst into flames… Flames. Fire. {Apple, are there any dangerous fire Pokemon around the base of Mint Mountain?}

{None that we're going to see. I mean there're a few Magmars that sometimes wander near the base, but they wouldn't normally go anywhere near the ocean so—okay, wait, why? That was oddly specific…}

{And Fiery knows you're Mew?} I suddenly stopped running, resting my hands on my knees. Apple skidded and turned around. I eyed the water again. Beyond the water in the sky, the moon was but a small crescent, and Vintage Village sure wasn't giving off any light.

{Well, I'm not sure he actually believes me.}

I pulled out Fiery's Pokeball and in a flash of red, Fiery appeared in front of me. {Alright, Apple, you trust me, right?}

Apple nodded. Behind her, the water almost glowed.

{Okay then, don't move.} The wind felt good against my neck and arms, a relief after all that running. I pointed a finger toward Apple. "Fiery, use Flamethrower. Strongest you've got!"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_ERIN, DON'T BE A BUM! ANSWER THE POKETECH! HA, HA, HA! ERIN, DON'T BE A BUM! ANSWER THE POKETECH! HA, HA, HA! ERIN—_

I groggily reached into my pack and pressed a button on my PokeTech to turn off the ring. "What?" I grumbled, pulling the PokeTech out of the bag and placing it by my pillow.

"Erin, it's Anita—"

I glanced at the PokeTech. Below a screen with Anita's face surrounded by flames, the time read, _4:06 a.m. _"Go back to bed, Anita," I said, closing my eyes.

"Erin!"

I bolted up in my bed and looked over at Anita's sleeping bag. It was empty. So was Liam's. I glanced around the room and found Liam's green eyes flashing at me from where he sat at the bottom of the stairs. I followed his gaze to my PokeTech.

On the screen, Anita was standing in front of a rocky terrain covered in flames and scorched stones. Her hair was frizzing and she looked pretty freaked out, though not nearly as much as when Apple disappeared. She must have been holding her PokeTech away from her body because I could see a lump of shivering blankets in her arms. "Erin, I did something really stupid."

"I think I can see that," I mumbled, frowning.

"Look, I don't have a lot of time. We were attacked by Magmar—"

"Where are you?" I asked, sitting up in my sleeping bag. I spoke quietly to avoid waking up Lily, Freddie, Jake, and Mel. "What are you doing?"

Anita grumbled something and pulled the bundle of blankets closer to her side. "I needed to train my Pokemon for the next gym and I wanted to get a head start tonight… We didn't want to wake anyone up and needed some space so we went to the outskirts of Mint Mountain." As Anita gestured behind her, I noticed her hand was covered in soot. "It was dumb. As soon we started practicing, some wild powerful Magmar attacked and I couldn't… My powers, they're still not…" Anita lifted the cover of a blanket in her arms. Apple lay in the blankets, her fur burnt and ears down, trembling against her head. "I went to the Pokemon Center here, but you saw it wasn't really up to date—the lady said to go to Artemis or Tinted Town for better care. I think Apple might've broken a paw."

"So you're leaving?"

Anita nodded. "She needs care ASAP. I gave her a burn heal, but it'll only relieve the pain temporarily."

"Where are you headed? Do you need Griffy?"

"Artemis. I saw some Lanturn near the pier, and I'll get a ride with them or with some other water Pokemon."

I nodded. "Got it." I glanced at Liam, who was still watching the PokeTech intently. "Want Liam or me to come with you now? One of us has to stay for Mel, but…"

"No time."

"Okay, we'll be right behind you tomorrow."

"I have to go." Anita hesitated. "Tell Mel I say goodbye. And sorry. We should've all told him together."

I tried to smile comfortingly, though I'm not sure how much of my face she could see in this dark basement. "We'll handle it. See ya in Artemis."

"Thanks, Erin. Bye." The screen went black. I sighed and looked over at Liam. He leaned his back against the wall and rested his elbows against his knees, sitting on the bottom step. "What're you doing over there?" I whispered.

Liam shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Are you okay? You look kind of upset."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Did Apple look okay?"

"Not really, but I've seen worse. I don't know what the hell Anita was thinking, going off like that."

"I know. Unusual."

I lied back down, pulling the sleeping bag up to my shoulders. "Not really. That's just Anita. Always getting herself or us into situations. 'Night, Liam."

"Goodnight."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I picked up the empty syringe, examining it in the faint moonlight coming through the window. The glass case of the syringe was easily wide enough to hold three of my fingers.

Normally, I would leave this type of job to Rita or Jamie, but due to Rita's recent lack of initiative to complete projects in a timely fashion, Jamie's disappearance to Hoenn, and my lack of time, I'd have to do it myself. I had Rita request that Tal teleport the necessary materials to me immediately.

"Bend the circuit board to the exact size of the glass case," I ordered. The Alakazam's shadow fell across me as the he reached a claw out for the circuit board on the table. The circuit board floated toward the glass case and then began to bend in the air.'

I turned my attention to the syringe's needle. It was a solid needle—the type one might find in a sewing kit, only thinner—not the type of needle that allowed for the flow of fluid. It was a conductor, and thus should prove effective under the circumstances.

Everything led to this needle tip.

All the complicated circuitry, the clever design, the energy—

All to a single sharp point.

"_This is pathetic. You didn't even teach your Machamp Foresight," a boy in a long dark cloak said, his green eyes glinting under the cloak's hood. He stood in an indoor arena, across from a tall teenage boy with long, curly blonde hair. In front of the teenager, a Machamp squatted, resting all four of his fists on the ground out of fatigue. A Spiritomb hovered nearby, grinning. "Finish this, Spiritomb. Shadow ball."_

_Little wisps of the Spiritomb's body swirled into tight balls and then shot at the Machamp. In a last ditch effort to protect himself, the Machamp lifted his hands in front of his body. The collision pushed the Machamp back, and the Pokemon fell to the tiled floor, knocked out._

"_Acting Gym Leader Mendol is the winner!" the referee declared._

_From the stands, a man with dark brown hair combed to cover a bald spot stood up. He was wearing a long white lab coat. "I can see why Velcan left you in charge of the gym. You're quite good," the man said._

"_No. So far, they've just been bad. Training their Pokemon to be stronger without even the slightest thought of strategy," the boy answered. He looked up at the man. "Any word from him, Jamie?"_

_The challenger stomped toward the referee. "Hey, this isn't fair! He's like an eight-year old! He's not the gym lead—"_

"_I am the gym leader here in Velcan Mendol's absence. If you can't even beat me, what makes you think you can beat him? You lost, now get out." The boy pointed toward the exit._

_When the blond teen made no move to leave, the boy pulled out a Pokeball. In a flash of red, a Mightyena appeared. "Notal," the boy said. "Please escort this kid out." Notal growled and took a step toward the teen._

"_I'm older than—" The Mightyena took another step forward. "Um, yeah." The teenager stumbled backward, then turned around and fled to the exit._

"_I haven't heard from Velcan. I came to see if you had," Jamie said. "A man from Hoenn called Team Glop'emm's emergency line, but he refused to talk to anyone but the Master."_

"_Hoenn?" The cloaked boy returned his Mightyena and Spiritomb to their Pokeballs._

_Suddenly, the gym doors burst open. A man with soaked black hair, a drenched cloak, and muddy boots stood in the doorway. He gripped the handle of a black net, swinging it angrily by his legs as he marched into the gym. Behind the man, an Alakazam floated, keeping its distance and shutting the gym doors psychically._

"_Father?" the boy asked. "What happened?"_

_The man ignored the boy and looked at Jamie. "Arkle," the man snapped. "Gather a group of our top researchers in conference room six. Tell them to start brainstorming ideas to track Pokemon. Any type of Pokemon. Make sure Rita Teal's in there. I'll come with more details in fifteen minutes." The man threw off his cloak, letting the dripping mass create a puddle on the floor. "You—referee—get this cleaned," the man ordered._

_Only when both the referee and Jamie had left the gym did the father turn to his son. "Son, something's happened."_

A single point.

I examined Tal's handiwork. If I didn't know better, the syringe would appear a typical vaccine.

Appearances deceive.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Don Mendol screamed in surprise when he found me sitting in his living room, leaning back in his reclining chair. Perhaps I should've put on my journalist act, I mused as I slowly pushed the chair into an upright position with my feet. I didn't want him dropping dead in shock. Not yet.

I let Don watch me for a moment as I sat perfectly still, allowing fear to trickle down his spine as the possible reasons a stranger could be sitting in his otherwise empty house flashed through his mind. He had to know _I_ had the power here.

Especially if he was in league with the Master.

The living room was cluttered with metal scraps, wires, and half-built trinkets. Don nervously scratched his mustache and took a hesitant step forward, crushing a bent flashlight beneath his shoe.

"I'm here to talk about your family," I said.

"My family?" Don asked faintly, looking down at the flashlight's broken plastic.

"Have a seat." I gestured to his purple couch.

Don sat down on the side of the couch not covered with wrenches, wire cutters, and screwdrivers. He picked up what looked like a metal wind-up toy from the coffee table beside the couch.

I held up a picture I'd found hanging in the kitchen of Don and the previous Master. "Your brother, Velcan Mendol, moved to Acceber eight years ago, and died of a heart attack four years ago."

I waited for a confirmation. Don twisted the handle of the wind-up toy and nodded.

I put the picture down, beside the reclining chair. "Your wife, Maria Mendol, and sister-in-law, Sue Mendol, died in the 2003 Slateport tsunami. You and Velcan each had a four-year-old son at the time."

Don nodded again.

I smiled. "I have DNA and photographic proof that Liam Mendol is your nephew." Don's eyes widened.

I continued, "Tell me about your relationship with Liam—after all, the _poor_ kid lost both his parents and you might be the closest thing he has right now to a father. Tell me: when Velcan died, why didn't Liam move back with you?"

"Wh-who are you?"

I snapped my fingers, and my Magnemite floated into the room from the kitchen behind me, releasing a threatening spark across its magnets. "As you can see, you are in no position to ask me questions. Unless you'd like to end up like your pathetic Volbeat, I suggest you answer me."

Don's eyes widened further, like balloons on the verge of popping. Worried about his little Pokemon. Pathetic. "Liam called me when my brother died," Don started, his voice raspy, "and I came in for the funeral. When I suggested Liam move back to Hoenn, Liam told me, 'I have a duty to fulfill as the dark gym leader of Acceber.' Heavy words for a ten-year-old kid. A woman named Rita Teal approached me, telling me what a sweet, small boy Liam was and how she always wanted a son. She seemed nice enough, and Liam agreed to the adoption… So that was that."

"What sort of contact have you had with Liam since then?"

"He used to call me once a month—now it's about once every three months. Rita still calls weekly. Liam came to visit once." Don gave me a tentative smile. "When Devon Corporation comes up with something new, I always send him a prototype. Sometimes I send him little gadgets he requests."

"So you haven't been much of a father to him." Don squeezed the wind-up toy in his hands, almost looking guilty. When he didn't say anything, I continued, "What do you know of Liam's… recent activities?"

Don released the wind-up handle on the toy, allowing it to vibrate across his fingers. "As the youngest gym leader in Acceber?" Don laughed half-heartedly. "What the hell do I know about the politics that boy's been dragged into over there? Why they let a ten-year-old become gym leader… It's just as wacked out as having those little psychic twins, Liz and Tate, as gym leaders over here. Sure, Liam's a genius and an outstanding Pokemon trainer, but to have that kind of pressure at such a young age…"

"I'm speaking of Liam's other activities."

"Oh, is he still trying to track down and destroy every legendary Pokemon he wanders across? Velcan was the same way—swore that as soon as Liam was old enough, he'd come back to Hoenn to destroy Kyogre. Said he moved to Acceber—supposedly, a land without legendaries—to stay safe and build up resources without legendary interference. I've got nothing against their sentiments—just think its pointless to try to kill g-d-like creatures. Better to just accept it as a natural disaster and move on with life." The metal toy had stopped vibrating. "Is that all?"

"What about your son, Landon?"

"What about my son?"

"Where is he? Does he share your views on the subject of legendaries?"

Don stared at me a moment. "My son's dead."

My smile widened. "Do you have proof?"

Don squeezed his eyes shut. "Yes, I've got the papers," Don said bitterly. "His body washed up six years ago, bloated and deteriorating and seaweed covered—do you want to see pictures? Do you want to see his grave? You want to see my tears?" Don appeared to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. "What do you want?"

I stood up, and Magnemite floated to my side. It appeared the DNA and picture analysis were not mistaken.

Liam Mendol—the supposed_ detective_—was the Master.

"What do you want?" Don repeated.

I walked towards the door. Before I exited the room, I paused and looked over my shoulder. Don still sat on the couch, his knees shaking.

"I want you to inform your beloved nephew of this little conversation."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I woke to Mel's shriek from beyond the basement door. I was still curled on the basement stairs' lowest step. Slowly, I rose, stretched, and climbed up the stairs, running a hand over my belt to ensure my Pokeballs, Rita Teal's Ditto's Pokeball, the newly disguised FTD, and the walkie talkie were all in place.

I hadn't slept well again. My father used to attribute my insomnia to the dark gift, but I don't remember suffering long sleepless nights as a child. Then again, the gift often doesn't manifest itself until adolescence.

Even after the tsunami, I slept okay. It wasn't until…

And now I wake up frequently, the same scene playing out in my dreams, happening over and over like a broken record.

"_Son, something's happened." _

_A man and a boy were standing in the middle of a gym. The man's wet black hair dripped over his shoulders. _

"_Are you okay? Did you catch M—I mean, Pokemon X?" The boy approached his father, his oversized cloak dragging on the ground behind him._

_The father shook his head. "It was close. If I'd been able to see through the rain better, I could've figured out precisely where that dratted Xatu told me Pokemon X would appear. If I hadn't had to station my Pokemon at various locations around Melonbi… But this isn't about that."_

"_What then?"_

_The father bent down so his eyes were level with his son's and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I got a message from your uncle in Slateport today. Your cousin's body was finally found. He's been dead for several years, probably since the tsunami. I'm sorry, Liam."_

"_He…he's…"_

"_Yes, Liam. Landon's dead."_

Why is it this day, the day I found out he was dead, that keeps me awake at night?

Why not the day he died?

On that day—the day the tsunami hit Slateport City, I remember it was sunny. Even though the breeze was cool, the ocean and shells sparkled in the sunlight. The tsunami was so drastic—so unexpected.

Landon and I were playing make-believe legendary, a game fairly common among four-year-olds. We'd imagined I was Kyogre and he, Groudon. We raced down the beach—me through the wet sand and Landon across the dusty dry sand, competing to pick up the most shells and run the fastest. I was only allowed to pick up the shells in the water, and he could only pick up the ones on the dry sand.

I still remember trying to convince him that we should return to my father. When I first suggested it, Landon laughed at me, bragging this proved Groudon was better than Kyogre. When he saw I was serious, he stomped his foot in the sand. I tried to convince him that my dad would be worried when he woke up from his nap and we were gone.

Shaking his black hair, Landon stubbornly refused to go back, but I was tired and my feet hurt from the shell shards embedded in the wet sand and my ankles were numb from the water. There were almost tears in my eyes, I was so frustrated. I turned around and fled back to my father. He stayed.

"Only wusses run away!" he yelled after me.

Years later, I could still hear the words ringing in my ears.

They were his last words.

I was right there—I could've convinced him, told him I'd give him my shells, give him the candy I hid in the bottom of my sock drawer, anything to make him turn around and walk back with me to my father.

At the top of the stairs, I listened for a moment, quieting my thoughts and quickly forming my plans for the day.

"Adopted! I will not be adopted! Where's Anita? She'll be on my side. You can't make me live with someone Scary and I don't know. We'll run away—go back to our house in the woods," Mel said.

"We won't force you into anything," Helen said. "but it's not legal or safe for you to travel or live without an adult. You'll at least have to meet with the man who wants to adopt you."

I opened the basement door, walking toward the kitchen where the voices were coming from. I heard excited chatter and squeals coming from the backyard—the kids were outside.

"Where's Anita?" Mel repeated.

"She went to train near Mint Mountain last night, and Apple got really hurt. She's rushing Apple to Artemis Town as we speak," Erin said.

Rushing to get away from me, more likely. It couldn't be a coincidence that the day I received the Forced Transforming Device, the most likely suspects—Anita and her Pokemon—all ran away. It couldn't be.

Almost certainly, Rita's Ditto had given me away. Mew could read minds. It was too easy for Mew to listen to that Ditto's thoughts and learn of the existence of the FTD.

I was losing my edge. It'd been a long time since I slipped up so ridiculously and my plans went awry. What would Landon think?

I shook my head as I entered the kitchen. I couldn't possibly know what Landon would think because he'd died as a four-year-old kid and how could I guess what he'd be like if he were alive?

Damn, I really was losing it.

Helen, Mel, Jake, and Erin sat around the kitchen table while Lily stood by the stove cooking scrambled eggs. Mel leaned away from the table, his arms folded tightly. His face brightened when I entered the room. "Mel," I said. "Erin, Anita, and I talked it over already. You're not going to travel with us any more."

Mel's fists clenched. He would start crying any moment now. Erin and Lily both gave me dirty looks as Lily turned off the stove and brought the pan of hot eggs to the table. I wouldn't be in the kitchen long enough to have to deal with it.

"You're up late," Erin said as Lily seated herself across from Helen and next to Jake.

"I didn't sleep much. Last night, I received a delivery from Professor Teal. Apparently, there's been an outbreak of Pokerus. She sent me her most recently approved vaccine to give to as many people and Pokemon I come in contact with who haven't had it yet," I said, fingering the syringe from my belt. Inside the syringe, of course, was the Forced Transformation Device circuitry I'd worked on last night. One touch of the needle and any transformed Pokemon would revert back to its original form.

"Oh, fabulous!" Helen said. "We don't usually get vaccines here in Vintage Village until these outbreaks are just about over, and by then its too late."

Lily gave me a dubious look as she pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.

"I have more than enough for the entire village. If you consent, I can start here and drop the rest off at the Pokemon Center on our way out of the village today," I said.

Helen nodded. "If you need, there's rubbing alcohol and swabs in the cabinet above the stove."

"Thank you." I moved to the cabinet, took out the supplies Helen suggested, and carried everything back to the far end of the kitchen table.

"Oh, dear, you can eat before you start—"

"No, no. I'll eat after," I said, already readying the first swab and indicating Jake should hold out his arm. He did so, slightly wary.

"Hello, can we get back to the part where I'm not getting adopted here!" Mel yelled. While everyone else began arguing once more, I touched the needle to Jake's skin and pushed down on the syringe handle.

"Hey, ow!" A small blue spark zapped Jake's skin, unnoticeable unless one was looking for it. Nothing happened.

So Jake was not Mew. Big surprise. I removed the needle, and Jake looked at the spot on his arm where the needle had pressed against. "It's not even bleeding," he said.

"The needle has a very fine tip," I answered.

I moved around the table testing everyone with the FTD and listening to Erin's attempts to comfort Mel. She put a hand on his shoulder and spoke to him quietly about how much we'd miss him, how much we wish he could keep traveling with us. Jake looked torn between excusing himself from the kitchen and ducking under the table to curl up into a tight ball and whimper at the sight of an upset child.

When I reached Mel, he glared at me. "I don't want it."

"Mel…" Erin pushed Mel's blond hair off of his forehead.

"Fine." Mel held his arm out stiffly.

Lily watched carefully as the needle tip touched her skin. It was likely she noticed the blue spark, though she said nothing.

As soon as everyone inside was confirmed to not be Mew, I excused myself and moved outside to where the Pokemon and the other children were located. I sighed when I realized I could hear Mel's complaints when I was in the backyard and the sliding doors were closed.

Leaving Mel freed my plans of one more unknown factor—one less chance of a mistake. He couldn't get in the way. It was safer for him, I mused, zapping Erin's Whooper who was leaning against the house. I dodged the watergun the Pokemon shot at me.

I moved on to Jake's Quilava. Ah, Jake was another factor I'd like to dispose of.

I had just finished confirming that no human or Pokemon in the orphanage was Mew when there was knock on the door. I walked into the kitchen and noticed a small spark bounce under the door crack, fading when it touched the wooden floor. My eyes widened.

"Lily," I said. "There're some clothes you said you could give me for the road. They're upstairs, right? Can you help me find them?" I walked toward the living room as Lily got up, pushed her chair into the table, and followed me.

"Wait!" Erin called. "Don't you want to meet—"

I hurried up the stairs as I heard Helen answer the door and Mel squeal in delight upon seeing Sparky in the doorway.

"He's probably about to get some," I heard Jake mutter to Erin. Then there was the _THWACK_ indicating Erin had just hit Jake with her backpack.

"What's with you?" Lily asked when we reached the top of the stairs. She motioned for me to follow her as she walked past me, down the carpeted hall. She pulled a string hanging from the ceiling, pulling open an entrance to the attic. Lily tugged down the fold out ladder down from the now hanging ceiling tile and tested the first wrung with her foot.

"The Cape Caution gym leader, Sparky Storm, is the person here to adopt Mel."

"Ah. Yeah, that whole not being seen by gym leaders wouldn't have worked out if you were in the room." Lily climbed the ladder, and I followed. After reaching the attic, Lily flicked on a dim light, illuminating the cramped, dusty room. Boxes lined all the walls of the room and clothes, dolls, and old toys were piled in unorganized heaps about the floor. It was quite a maze.

Lily nodded the syringe on my belt. "It that…?"

I nodded. "The Forced Transformation Device."

"I figured. I'll get you some bottles you can pretend are full of medicine later." When I didn't answer, Lily continued, "So nobody here is Mew, not that you thought as much." Lily bent over a pile near the left wall and began rummaging through the mess. "If you're so convinced _she's _Mew, why aren't you already going after her?"

I eyed other piles, wondering if I should help. Lily seemed to know what she was looking for, though, so I settled for sitting in a creaky rocking chair in the corner of the attic. "I don't _know_ she's Mew, but it's highly likely. Remember, she appeared in Melonbi Town about the time my father tracked Mew to the area, she was eccentric—attracting odd Pokemon—throughout her childhood, she's a psychic, and my DNA tracker found Mew traveling a nearly identical path as her just weeks ago. Very little information was gained from psychological tests performed, but no results denied the possibility of her identity. Other evidence suggests Anita's Eevee, Apple, is Mew—the Eevee doesn't have a Pokeball and has purple tinted eyes, though this could be genetic. Apple, however, did not appear to be in Melonbi Town about the time my father was there. Not that any of this proves anything for sure. Each really only has about a forty percent chance of being Mew at this point. There are so many other—"

"Hey, stop avoiding my question. Why aren't you already going after them? I'd expect you to follow as soon as you heard they left."

Lily actually expected me to give chase? I would never be rash enough to immediately pursue Anita, effectively destroying my researcher façade, unless I suspected Anita would cut off all contact with me. "Anita plans on meeting up with Erin in Artemis Town—her Eevee's hurt. I overheard her PokeTech conversation with Erin last night. Plus, if she already suspects I'm after Mew, I'd like to avoid confirming any suspicions due to hasty decisions."

"You don't think she'll just disappear?" Lily asked, tossing me two pairs of jeans, a pair of boxers, and a crumpled black t-shirt. "Those'll have to do. The clothes you wore yesterday should be out of the wash by now, and I found a bag you could use downstairs."

"Why would she call? If she wanted to disappear, she wouldn't have contacted Erin." I leaned back in the rocking chair, causing the wood to creak.

"So why do you think she ran off?" Lily asked. "Do you actually believe her Eevee's hurt?" Lily watched me, twirling her black hair around a finger thoughtfully. Maybe I shouldn't have trusted her with so much information…

It's not like I had any other option. She knew who I was, and entrusting her with a little more information was the only safe way of keeping her quiet. By trusting her, I gained her loyalty.

"Why the sudden suspicion? You were the one defending Anita yesterday," I said.

Lily glared at me. "Just making sure you've thought through everything. Whatever it takes to destroy Mew for my parents, for this village, and for all the people still endangered by Mew's existence." For an instant, I remembered my cousin—the way he'd had that determined look in his eyes when he refused to return with me to my father on the beach.

I nodded as Lily disappeared down the ladder. "I'll let you know when Sparky's gone," she said. The ends of Lily's hair fluttered out of sight. The strands were just the same color as Landon's.

When Lily's footsteps finally faded down the hall below me, I started to change into the clothing Lily had provided me. I could just make out voices in the kitchen.

"Why didn't you tell me it was Sparky who wanted to adopt me?" Mel asked, giggling gleefully.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Helen and Lily said something I couldn't hear as I exchanged the wrinkled over-sized t-shirt I was wearing for the wrinkled normal-sized t-shirt Lily gave me.

"Well, if I have to be… Then I guess I could be adopted by Sparky," Mel said. I checked my PokeTech. Almost eleven. Hopefully, this would be finished quickly—I'd like to get to Anita as soon as possible.

At the moment, it was impossible to determine the reasons for Anita's actions because I had no way of knowing how much she knew about me, the Forced Transformation Device, and Mew.

I almost laughed at myself. Here, I'd thought I was well on my way to finding Mew. I barely knew anything.

"No! I don't have a last name! Scary's my parent so if you need a name for your dumb form, write Melvin Scary!" Mel yelled.

I decided I'd sat up in the attic long enough; I turned off the lights and climbed down the ladder. I'd be able to see when Sparky left from Lily's room's window.

"Mel, if you could just tell us your father's—" Erin said.

"He left me—he's nobody!"

"I'll just register him like I do the other children we pick up off the street," Helen said gently. "It's okay."

Mel sniffed. From the top of the stairs, I could hear the scratching of pen on paper. I put my hand on Lily's doorknob.

"Alright, well that's the paperwork. Sparky, Mel—I now declare you father and son," Helen said. "Oh, Sparky. Lily brought up a box of stuff from the basement she and the kids want Mel to have. Here."

There was some shuffling. "Alright. Well, kiddo, say your goodbyes. I'll be in the car waiting," Sparky said.

I took my hand off the doorknob. "You have a car?" Mel asked in wonder. I could practically feel how wide his eyes must be.

"It's electric."

I waited until I heard the front door click shut to descend the stairs. Mel was giving Helen a hug when I walked into the kitchen. Mel smiled, let go of Helen, and approached me.

"Um, sorry for making fun of you for puking on the boat," Mel said. "And for being mean this morning." I held out my hand, and he took it in both hands, unsure what to do.

"Stay out of trouble," I said, shaking his two hands with my one.

"You're really cool," Mel blurted out, before turning to Erin. He flung himself around Erin's waist.

Erin hugged him back. "We'll miss you, and remember, you can always call us for anything," Erin said. "Anita told me to hug you goodbye for her—she's sorry she couldn't be here."

Mel bobbed his blond head and stepped away from Erin.

Jake opened his arms wide, grinning mockingly. "Well?" he asked. "How about a hug goodbye before you go live with the electric zapping psychopath, huh?"

Mel sniffed and turned to Lily. "Bye. Tell Freddie I'll come visit." His eyes flickered from Erin to me. "Thanks, guys, for being friends," he said quietly.

"What am I, chopped-up, smelly Skunktank?" Jake asked.

Mel put his hands on his hips. "Yes." Then, waving his arms he yelled, "I'll be seeing ya!" and disappeared.

For a moment, Lily and Helen were stunned. Jake actually yelped. "Wha—what—"

I gave Erin a tightlipped smile. "What a joker," I said. "He always does that joking act with that joking Gengar of his."

Erin was staring where Mel had just disappeared.

"Erin," I snapped.

"Oh, yeah. Crazy prankster that one," Erin said. "Wouldn't want to cross him."

I sighed. "We'd better get going, too. Anita's got a half-a-day's head start," I said.

"Here." Lily handed me two bags—one to put my extra clothes in and another already filled with several large containers of medicine.

Erin hugged Helen and Lily. "Thanks for everything. We really appreciate a place to sleep and the food and the company."

"Oh, it's not a problem, dear. Come back any time."

Lily looked at me expressionlessly before throwing her arms around my neck. I immediately tensed. "You'll find it—I know you will," she whispered in my ear. "And Liam," she said, kissing my cheek. "Thank you."

My stomach felt a little peculiar as I watched Lily hurry away to clean up the kitchen table. I frowned.

"See, I told you they were all lovey-dovey upstairs," Jake said. He nudged Erin with his elbow. "That's what we'll be doing on our way to Artemis. Let's show Liam how it feels to be a third wheel."

Erin looked at him, horrified. "You're coming with us?"

Jake grinned. "'Course, I am. I've got some unfinished business with Anita."

Erin casually walked to my side, put her arm around my neck, and leaned on my shoulder. "I don't know if you've heard, but Liam and I actually started dating recently."

Lily looked up from the kitchen table, watching Erin with a dangerous expression and holding the back of a chair so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Jake snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I fell hopelessly in love right after we kissed in Nelcorn—you were there, Jake, remember?" There was a loud clatter as the chair by Lily fell to the ground. Erin was turning her head towards me—

I decided it was time to put my abilities to good use. In one fluid motion, I slipped out of Erin's grasp, raised an eyebrow at Lily, and slipped her bags over my shoulder. I was out the door before any of them could blink.

"Wait for us!" Erin and Jake called as I strode steadily forward, considering whether it would be advantageous to run all the way to Artemis before Erin and Jake could catch up.

Certainly, it would help my mental health.

I smiled grimly, slowing my pace. Only wusses run away.


	39. Styx and Stones Can Break My Bones

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Sooo, I am putting out this chapter early! :) It is my goal to have another chapter out by mid-August, and then one at the beginning of September (returning to my monthly schedule). This is an attempt to make up for the missed month of May, though if I find I can actually sustain this rate of writing, I will definitely post chapters more often. Don't get your hopes up; I've tried and failed before.

OBR- :D Yup, you guessed it! And yes, it was my birthday- thank you!

ChaosAngel4us- Lol. I loved your reaction. When I first started writing this story, this was supposed to be the main plot twist/OMG moment. That has since changed, but I'm happy it had the intended effect.

I absolutely LOVE my readers and reviewers! I love hearing your thoughts, and it's you guys who keep me writing. THANK YOU!

Also for the record, the _Previouslys_ probably shouldn't be used as a replacement for the actual chapter. And they obviously contain spoilers (that already happened).

_Previously on An Apple a Day:_

Jamie Arkle (betraying assistant of the Master) goes to Slateport City and speaks with the Master's uncle, only to discover Liam Mendol is the Master! Dun dun dun. Anita runs away in the middle of the night after seeing Liam use the Forced Transformation Device on a Ditto. She pretends Apple is severely burned by a Magmar (really, Fiery mildly burns Apple), tells Erin, and then finds a Lanturn to take her take her to Artemis Town, where the Pokemon healing services will be better than in Vintage Village.

Liam changes the appearance of the Forced Transformation Device so it resembles a vaccine. He tests everyone and their Pokemon in the orphanage, ensuring that none of them are Mew. He also remembers when he found out his beloved cousin, Landon, was dead, his body found washed up by sea several years after the actual Tsunami that also killed his mother and aunt.

Mel is officially adopted by Sparky and says farewell to the gang. Erin, Liam, and Jake depart for Artemis Town.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 36: Styx and Stones Can Break My Bones, But Words Can Never…mind

Two nights and a full day of riding on the back of a Lanturn with few breaks left my shins numb, my butt sore, and my appreciation for land at its highest. My legs were swathed in some of my extra clothes to keep blood running through them, and I wore my waterproof winter gloves to keep a grip on the Lanturn's head.

Apple shifted from one of my shoulders to the other about once an hour to keep them from getting sore—it wasn't working. Occasionally, she sat on my head. Though her fur was charred, she wasn't nearly as hurt from Fiery's Flamethrower as she looked. Fiery's attacked had lasted less than a second to keep Apple's injuries to a minimum, though Apple's skin was still very sensitive to the salt water.

{Anita, I can see buildings!} Apple exclaimed. {Finally!}

I looked up. She was right—I could make out the outlines of Artemis Town's few skyscrapers and the famous gym dome against the dark sky. From the stench, I could tell we were currently floating by farmland. Beyond the barn silhouettes, the sky was lightening. I looked at my PokeTech—6:27 a.m. The sun would be rising soon.

{I expect full payment as soon as we reach Artemis,} the Lanturn reminded me for about the hundredth time. I'd agreed to give the Pokemon just about my full supply of status healing supplies along with a thunderbolt from Splash to recover the Lanturn's energy enough for his journey back. Apple thought I should've held out for a better deal.

{You're just lucky I sold all my empty PokeBalls for supplies,} I told the Lanturn.

{Probably not the best idea to threaten our ride,} Apple said.

The Lanturn seemed to have similar thoughts, lowering itself until my waist was under water. I yelped at the cold water's touch. {Sorry, sorry!} The Lanturn lifted itself to the surface once more, but the damage was done. Now I could feel even the slightest cool breeze through my pants. Great.

We were quickly approaching an old empty boating dock. Though there were no boats parked in the dock, there were two figures sitting side by side facing towards Artemis Town, their feet dangling over the water.

As we approached the two people on the dock and the sky lightened, I was able to make out finer details—a girl's long blonde hair pulled into a slick ponytail, a teen boy's bare back—and of course, I couldn't miss the fact that the two teenagers were too involved in a long passionate kiss to hear my approach.

{Let's go to the next dock—} The Lanturn bucked, slapping my back with its tail and causing me to fly face first into the couple.

"Ow," the shirtless guy said. He untangled his limbs from the blonde girl's, grabbed the scruff of my windbreaker, and lifted me up. "Hey, what the hell was that about?"

"Put me down!" I tried to catch one of his arms, but he easily knocked my hands away. The guy looked a older than me—maybe seventeen or eighteen. He had golden eyes and light brown hair—or was it blond? It was hard to say in this light. His arms were lanky but well muscled and his abs were—just wow.

{Anita, it's rude to stare,} Apple said smugly, digging her claws into my shoulder lightly. My face grew warm and I realized I had forgotten to keep struggling, but the guy didn't seem to be trying to cause me or Apple any harm.

I turned my attention to the girl, whose hand was wrapped around the guy's free hand. She also looked older than me with her angular face, smooth pale skin, and large dark eyes. Though she wore no makeup I could see and didn't do anything special with her hair, she was beautiful enough to be on the cover of _Persons Magazine_ or in a _New Blue_ commercial. The girl was patiently watching the guy holding me, as if waiting for a signal.

Suddenly, there was a sharp jolt through my body. Apple yelped, and the guy immediately dropped me. I turned around.

{My payment, please,} the Lanturn said, sparks dancing across his body as a warning.

"The Lanturn expects some sort of payment," the blonde girl murmured. Surprised, I looked at her over my shoulder. What the—was she a psychic, too?

I released Splash from his PokeBall. "Thundershock the Lanturn." I reached into my pack, pulled out my four last full heals and an awakening, and tossed the medicine at the Lanturn. Rejuvenated from Splash's electricity, the Lanturn leapt into the air, catching the healing items between his teeth.

{A pleasure doing business,} the Lanturn said, splashing me as he dove under water. I returned Splash to his Pokeball when he made like he was going to follow the Lanturn into the sea.

"Are you okay?"

I turned back to the couple. "Yeah, I'm—"

The girl wasn't looking at me; she was watching Apple on my shoulder.

_You're a nosy weirdo with straw hair who's only got a boyfriend 'cause of those big boobs,_ I thought as loudly as I could without transmitting telepathically. _And your shoes are ugly,_ I added as an afterthought.

The girl was still watching Apple with concern. Okay, so she wasn't a psychic.

"Dustin," the girl said. "The Eevee should've been found by one of your Pidgeots or Tali's Noctowls."

"Who are you people?" I asked, jabbing a finger at the girl, forcing her to retract the hand she had been about to touch Apple with.

The guy, apparently named Dustin, smiled. "Aw, look, Styx, this pipsqueak doesn't know who I am. Isn't that cute?"

Weird name, I thought.

"Now's not the time, Dustin," Styx said irritably. "That Eevee needs a Pokemon Center now, no thanks to your Pokemon." She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards Artemis town. I yanked my hand hard, but the girl held fast—she was stronger than she looked.

"Let go," I demanded.

"Don't bother," Dustin said. "She'll bring your Eevee to the Pokemon Center even if she has to drag you by the ankles to do so."

Like they could make me. If this loser thought I was going anywhere without knowing who the hell he and blondie were, he was dead wrong.

In an instant, I made a small barrier appear at Styx's feet, making her trip and enabling me to free my hand from her grasp.

Dustin caught the girl in his arms, chuckling. "Oh ho ho. Guess who we've stumbled upon, Styx? Not just any pipsqueak. No, we've found Anita Parkwood, the psychic pipsqueak from Melonbi Town."

How the heck did he know that?

As if reading my thoughts, Dustin continued, "I'm Dustin Blavoid, gym leader of Artemis Town. I can sense Pokemon and gifted trainers' powers."

I was about to put up a barrier to keep Styx from reaching for me when Dustin snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the air was rushed from my lungs as I was forced to my knees, squished in some sort of invisible container.

"Oh, and I can mimic powers, too." Dustin grinned, patting the top of the barrier box I was apparently being held in. Apple's claws dug into my shoulder hard now. "Believe me, I've had plenty of practice mimicking the psychic powers of the Zahavah City gym leader, Tamara Lilac."

{You okay?} I asked Apple, glaring at Dustin.

{My tail's a bit crushed, but otherwise I'm good.}

I pushed my mind against the psychic walls. {I can't break out,} I growled. {How's he stronger than me?}

{Assuming his ability works like the attack mimic, he copies abilities—not inner strength and experience. Obviously he's a lot more experienced than you and from what we've seen of his gift so far, he seems to have a lot of power.}

{Oh, that's just perfect.}

"Careful, don't hurt the Eevee," Styx said to Dustin, peering at Apple from behind Dustin's shoulder.

Smirking, Dustin bent over and heaved the psychic box on to his shoulder. I shifted my body forward, trying to tip the box.

"I'd keep balance if I were you," Dustin said. "I have no qualms about letting you fall."

"And I'll have no qualms about punching your face until your girlfriend can't tell your lips from your ears the moment I'm outta here," I replied.

Styx looked from Dustin to me, her shoulders tense and eyes somewhat detached. "I'd appreciate it if you refrained from threatening my boyfriend," she said. "_I_ have no qualms about killing you."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Griffy's getting tired. Let's stop for lunch," I said, snapping my book shut and giving Griffy a brief pat on the neck. Behind me, Liam grunted in agreement.

"Already?"

I turned around to give Jake an annoyed look. "Griffy can only carry three people for so long, and after all of yesterday's riding, Griffy's pretty exhausted." I wasn't sure Jake heard me; he was pretty into whatever he was looking at on his PokeTech.

We dismounted and I handed Liam my pack after pulling out a few potions, indicating he should get lunch ready while I tended to Griffy. I bent over to look at Griffy's front legs. They were trembling, not that it was much of a surprise after all that riding. "Why didn't you tell me how tired you were sooner?"

{I apologize, Miss. With that dark one on my back, I cannot psychically communicate.}

I sprayed the potions on Griffy's legs. "That's no excuse. We've already discussed that your signal for needing rest is nipping me or Liam or Jake."

{Unfortunately, my tail seems unable to grasp the concept of these signals. I believe that is why Mr. Veneer sat as far up as possible—to avoid the nipping.}

{I nip for bubblegum popsicles,} Griffy's tail said. {And to devour the time stream of recycled bicycles.}

"Well, you could've nipped me." I stood up and ran a hand through Griffy's fur. "Make sure you and your tail have a good meal." I gestured to the large bowl of PokeBlocks Liam had set up next to a blue blanket. Jake, I noted, was sitting next to the blanket, still zoned into his PokeTech. I asked Liam, "Did you find the silverware? There wasn't room in the food shrinker so I put it nest to my hair drier in the—."

Liam held up a fork in response.

I sat down between Jake and Liam, on the edge of the blanket. "You know, it's way weird." Jake said, finally turning towards the food in front of us. "In half these shows, if there's a character that walks the line between good and evil, chances are it's because of the influence of an evil older sibling. Characters are especially prone to this if they can shoot fire—"

"Oh, so that's what you've been doing? Watching television shows on your PokeTech!"

"What do you expect me to do? Sit like a piece of cardboard like this dreary kid." Jake waved at Liam. Liam glared. Under his breath, Jake added, "Though if I got to sit behind Erin, maybe I wouldn't need to amuse myself with petty shows."

Okay, I'll just pretend I didn't hear that. "Hm, what to expect of Jake Veneer?" I mockingly tapped a finger to my lips. My eyes widened and I lifted the finger in the air. "I know. How about thinking of a way to get your lazy ass off of Griffy so Griffy won't be hurt and tired and we can get to Artemis faster." I grabbed a piece of celery from a plate and bit into it.

"Whoa. This is coming from the girl who was _reading poetry_ the entire trip. If you want a plan, you come up with it," said Jake. Liam glanced at my poetry book, lying near my legs.

"Why don't you ride your bicycle?" I said sarcastically. "Wait, that's right. You had to sell it for money after you lost like a little baby to Artemis Town's gym leader. You were forced to come crying to Anita—your rival—for help. Pathetic."

"And look who's dragging me along."

"You invited yourself." I looked at Liam, my face quickly becoming serious. At least I could pretend to keep my emotions in check. Thank you, drama club. "He has a point. We would be quicker if we left Jake behind and probably happier, too."

Liam had closed his eyes. He bit into a sandwich, ignoring me.

Jake pulled out a PokeBall, threateningly. "I will not be left behind!"

Liam's eyebrow twitched.

I pulled out Wella's Pokeball, knowing Jake didn't have a good counter against water Pokemon. "I can take you."

"Enough," Liam said. There was a flash of red. For a moment, I thought Jake had released a Pokemon. Then I saw that the Pokemon in the grass before us was a Ditto.

"I thought you don't use your Pokemon unless there's an emergency," I said.

"It's not my Pokemon. Professor Teal sent me the Ditto to assist me with the medicine I left in Vintage Village. Hardly necessary, of course."

So he'd had a Ditto the whole time? "Why didn't you say anything?" Griffy wouldn't be in nearly so much pain if there were another Pokemon to share the load.

"I have my reasons."

Cryptic answer, as usual. This would be Anita's cue to blow up at him—threaten to tear off his toes one by one if she was in a good mood, charge at him if she was in a bad mood. I tried to not take Liam's unwillingness to share information personally. Anita figured he was up to something bad—I remember she'd theorized criminal activity back in Tinted Town. I couldn't imagine Liam as a member of Team Glop'emm or the likes; he was probably just doing some top-secret research for Professor Teal.

The Ditto shifted, beginning to transform. Its body grew and—was that a human arm?

"Sticky, stop," Liam demanded. He was frowning.

Hm, maybe _this _was the secret research. I glanced at Jake. Now that getting left behind was no longer a threat, he was occupying himself with the chips and salsa, not even sparing the Ditto a glance.

"I want to help," the Ditto said.

I stared. Jake dropped the chip he was holding up to his mouth.

Though the Ditto was still a shapeless pink blob, it appeared to have formed human lips.

Liam sighed. "Sticky, just transform into a Rapidash."

"You have a Ditto that can speak?" I asked as the Ditto transformed.

"Yes. Professor Teal has been helping Sticky learn—I would appreciate it if you kept quiet about this."

I knew it. He _was_ working on some top-secret awesome research project. Lucky. Was he studying Ditto's transformation? No wait, why would he have to keep something like that a secret? When he originally started traveling with us, he _had _taken a particular interest in Eevee, the evolution Pokemon. Maybe he was working on linking transformation to evolution? If he and Professor Teal were near a breakthrough, she wouldn't want anyone stealing her work. That'd be reason enough to keep Ditto all hush-hush.

But then why send Ditto to Liam? Unless maybe the Professor wanted to see how a transformed Ditto would interact with humans. What if Liam introduced us to a human transformed Ditto? What would the Ditto be like? I almost squealed aloud. Ah, I wanted to meet it!

"Sometimes, your trainer has such a creepy smile," Jake muttered, looking at Griffy. I flashed my teeth at Jake mockingly, before doing my best imitation of Liam's stoic expression.

{All the better to eat you with!} Griffy's tail yelled, struggling for a moment to reach towards Jake. With the tail's small attention span, it was only seconds before the tail became more preoccupied with finding a way to communicate with the newly transformed Rapidash's tail.

"Where did you get that poetry book?" Liam asked as I reached for more celery. He was still watching the Ditto as it trotted over to Griffy to share food.

"See, Jake, Liam understands that poetry is interesting and thought-provoking." I smirked at Jake before continuing. "It was a favorite of mine back when I worked with Professor Blubber in his lab. He had two copies so I figured he wouldn't mind if I took one."

"So it holds only sentimental value?"

"Well, I don't know. There's something about this guy's poems that's intriguing, you know? They're mostly vague and abstract, and honestly, there's not much vivid imagery." I picked up the book from beside me, sweeping a hand over the cover to brush off stray dead grass. "Plus, the author, Professor Hastings, was a researcher."

Secretly, I thought that Professor Hastings had recorded research in this book. But I wasn't about to embarrass myself by telling Liam that. I knew the idea was a bit out there, but seriously, why would a Professor devote so much time to creating a thick book of poems? And not even good poems!

"Have you met Professor Hastings?" Liam asked. "Professor Blubber said they'd been acquainted."

"Nope. I never even heard Professor Blubber talk about him."

Liam's eyes lingered a little too long on the swirl through two chains on the book's cover. My book, I thought possessively. He wasn't going to steal my thunder by figuring out Professor Hastings's poems before I did.

"Tch. Poetry's just a means by which amateur men draw in women," Jake said.

Grateful for the distraction, I said, "Oh? Then why don't I see you scrambling to write on scraps of paper with a rhyming thesaurus in hand? Trying to get girls is all you do."

"I attract women with my looks alone—"

"Right. With that hair looking like mess of chick feathers. You look like a canary that's been bashed over the head—you think like one, too."

"Well you look like a Purugly with rabies. And think like one, too."

"What the hell does a Purugly with rabies think—"

"You both look like obnoxious morons to me," Liam interjected. "Now shut it and eat so we can keep moving."

And so we did.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Professor Hastings, Professor Hastings." I knocked on the door again, louder this time. "You must be home—there's smoke coming out of your chimney."

When nobody answered, I looked down at my Glaceon. "Whisper, use—"

The door opened. In the doorway stood a disheveled man with large round bifocal glasses. He was wearing a bathrobe and one worn slipper.

"Professor Hastings, I have a few questions for you."

When the professor just stared at me with wide, watery eyes, not inviting me in, I pushed past him through the front door.

The professor lived in a small three-room house. A house that appeared as if a herd of Tauros had trampled through it. There were papers everywhere: all over his desk, sticking our from under the bathroom door, crumpled behind his bed pillow, even in his kitchen sink.

"Niomi Shivicle, gym leader of this accursed city," the professor muttered.

It was a relief that he recognized me; I wasn't going to be questioning a complete lunatic. I turned to face the professor. "I'll get straight to the point. Have you recently seen an adolescent with black hair and green eyes? More specifically, did you see him three days ago—Thursday, July twenty-fifth?"

The professor walked away from the door, leaving it wide open. He passed me as if I wasn't in the room and pulled out a wooden stool from under his desk, tearing papers on the ground in the process.

"She didn't warn me this would happen," the professor murmured.

"Who?"

The professor stared blankly ahead. I frowned. Perhaps the rumors were true, and he was indeed mentally unstable.

"Professor, I'm asking if you've seen a teenager with black hair on July twenty-fifth. Please, answer me."

"No, I didn't see."

"Thank you." As I turned to leave, a silver glint caught my eye amongst the mess of papers on the floor. I narrowed my eyes. There were two silver chains hooked into the wall; at the end of each chain was a manacle. Whisper sensed my sudden suspicion and trotted over to the chains, her nose twitching.

"Professor Hastings, why do you have chains on your wall?"

"Hmm? Oh, research. Research, of course."

Of course. Because he had to chain his papers to the wall to keep them from escaping.

Abruptly, Whisper whirled around, releasing an ice beam to lock Professor's arms and legs together. She growled.

The last time Whisper had reacted in this manner, she had prevented an angry trainer from slamming his Pichu's head against a PokeMart wall.

Whisper pointed her tail at the chains. I was already in motion, moving to crouch beside Whisper to inspect the chains. There was dried blood on the inside of each manacle.

I glanced up at Whisper, watching her tail. We'd developed a sort of primitive sign language—a means of communication in situations a psychic Pokemon was unavailable. Whisper twisted her tail into the shapes of letters. B-L-O-O-D O-F C-H-I-L-D. Whisper paused for a moment, then continued. M-A-Y-B-E M-E-N-D-O-L.

Quickly, I straightened, looking sharply at the wide-eyed Professor. "Professor Hastings, as gym leader of Winsk City, I hereby arrest you on the charges of suspected child abuse and withholding information. You have the right to remain silent."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I watched the steel box covered in flashing lights apprehensively as Styx typed commands into a computer that was apparently linked to this strange machine. The machine resembled a flashy airport baggage check machine, complete with conveyer belt and plastic bins. Apple sat in one such bin, waiting for Styx to input the correct settings before her bin was drawn into the machine.

"Chance. Chancey chanc chancey cha chance cha. Chancey chance chance cha." Translation: {Why the hell aren't you moving faster? I need to finish this quickly; there's a Charmander with broken legs in waiting room four.} The Chancey spoke to Styx, and Styx appeared to understand, signaling the Chancey to put her hands on a screen attached to the flashing machine.

"So you're sure this machine will completely heal Apple?" I asked dubiously.

"Yes, I built the Auto-Restorer myself."

"Have you even test—"

"This machine's been successfully functioning for six months," Styx said. "It's recommended that Apple stay a day at the Pokemon Center to ensure there are no complications, but in a matter of seconds, Apple should be feeling one hundred percent."

Complications? {Yell if anything feels weird,} I told Apple. {I'll break this Auto-Restorer myself.}

This Auto-Restorer was supposedly some sort of miracle healing machine she'd created—currently, healing machines throughout the world took several minutes or hours to function. Styx said the Auto-Restorer only affected skin-deep afflictions, but even so, if the hunk of metal actually worked, it was a major breakthrough in Pokemon healing.

I didn't know what to make of Styx. Though she wasn't psychic, she clearly understood Pokemon. Apparently, she worked part time in the Pokemon Center as a translator/mechanic/nurse—basically, whatever needed to be done. In the time she wasn't at the Pokemon Center, she was studying at Artemis University, double majoring in Pokemon Linguistics and Biomechanical Engineering.

Then there was her threat to kill me if I hurt Dustin. She pretended it didn't happen, ignoring the awkward tension in the air on our trip to the Pokemon Center. Styx also acted as if it was perfectly normal for her boyfriend to be carrying a trainer contained in a psychic box over his shoulder while she held his free hand, smiling at the Pidgeys that seemed to cover every inch of Artemis Town. I found her change in emotion extremely unnerving and fairly obnoxious.

She and Dustin had discussed an organization called the PRAHA—the Pokemon Retrieve and Heal Association. It was basically an organization my two captors had set up with Dustin's sister, Tali, to find and help injured Pokemon. I had muttered something along the lines of how there was clearly a need for a less abusive retrieval system to which Styx replied stone-facedly that Artemis had the lowest Pokemon mortality rate of any city in the world.

Artemis Town's Pokemon Center was the hugest, most modern I'd seen yet. There seemed to be a constant flow of trainers up and down the concrete stairs that led to the Pokemon Center's glass doors. Chanceys greeted the trainers near the doors, pointing them to the necessary waiting room or escorting them to a particular facility.

The Chancey in front of me now, with her hands on the Auto-Restorer, had greeted us at the Pokemon Center doors. She was rather large for a Chancey and waddled like she owned the place. The Chancey had taken one look at me and Apple hoisted over Dustin's shoulder, and jumped towards Dustin, slapping his face and chest until he released the psychic barrier.

Strangely, Styx hadn't objected. I was soon informed that the Chancey was Dustin's Pokemon.

The Chancey had rushed us to this room, told us to wait here, and left. From her thoughts, I'd picked up that we'd be here a while.

There was a small television screen in the corner of the room, which buzzed with Acceber's latest news updates. "While some trainers continue their search for the Drape Town gym leader, others are protesting in front of the Drape Town gym. Acceber's gym leaders continue to defend this unusual prelim—" I turned the TV on mute and spent our waiting time practicing making psychic barriers, annoyed Dustin had been able to out-psychic me.

Apple spent the time contemplating how to deal with Liam.

After three hours, the Chancey returned, tailed by Styx. Now, Apple was sitting in a grey plastic bin, twitching impatiently—

BUZZ

The conveyer started moving. I touched my mind to Apple's, ensuring I'd know immediately if something went wrong. Apple felt a pleasant warmth as she entered the flashing machine. The Chancey's hands glowed for a moment.

Then it was over. On the other side of the flashing machine, Apple appeared—

Or rather, what looked like a humungous hairball with Apple-colored fur appeared.

"What the HELL did you do to Apple?" I turned to Styx.

Styx's eyes widened. "Shit, your eyes," she said.

{Anita, I'm okay. I just need a haircut. No need for any psychic outbursts,} Apple said. She grinned. {Look, if I move my legs like this, I might actually be able to _roll_ off the conveyer—} With that Apple did roll out of the grey bin, her fur acting as a cushion as she landed on the floor. {Hehe.}

I breathed. Apple was okay, and she _did_ look pretty funny.

"Strange," Styx murmured, walking towards Apple. "This hasn't happened since Slowpoke…" Styx bent over, turning Apple so she could se Apple's face. "Hm, purple eyes. Does she have psychic relatives?"

Ignoring her question, I said, "I thought you said this machine's been working fine for months!"

"Yeah, its worked on every _normal-typed_ Pokemon put through it," Styx replied.

"And how many Pokemon have you killed testing it?"

"Arceus! I haven't killed any Pokemon! Look, your Eevee made a full recovery—the machine just accelerated Apple's fur growth."

"Injured, then. You've had to test the Pokemon somehow; you're abusing—"

"I don't even test it on Pokemon!"

I folded my arms. "Then how would you know it works?" I said coldly. I pushed into her mind, looking for evidence. I saw shifting shapes, a warmth—

"Am I interrupting something, ladies?" Dustin entered the room. An Eevee sat on his shoulder. He approached Styx and kissed her cheek. "Ray and I just had a chat with my Pidgeot about getting his flock up and flying earlier for the PRAHA. We can't have our retrieval system failing at sunrise." He glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "Then we wouldn't have the pleasure of helping out pipsqueak trainers and their—" Dustin glanced down at Apple. "…giant balls of fur that once resembled Pokemon?"

Styx turned around, putting around Dustin's neck. "I love you."

Dustin was still peering over Styx's shoulder at Apple. "What happened here?"

"Accelerated fur growth."

"Ah."

I pointed at Styx and looked at Dustin. "Is this what you let your city come to? This woman experimenting on Pokemon—"

"Styx would never hurt a Pokemon," Dustin said vehemently. He smirked. "Pipsqueak trainers, on the other hand…"

I looked at Styx, sizing her up. She was four or five inches taller than me. Bustier. I could totally take her, with or without my gift.

Styx rolled her ideas. "Don't give her ideas, Dustin."

The Eevee on Dustin's shoulder jumped to the ground, gave Apple a small nudge, and watched as she rolled until she lightly hit the wall. Her fur bristled, which of course didn't help her… roundness.

"Play nice, Ray," Dustin said. He turned to me, Styx still in his arms. "Now, what's this about Styx abusing Pokemon?"

"Well, she said this machine's been running perfectly for months." I gestured to Apple. "Then this happened, which has apparently also happened with Slowpokes, and I can only imagine what happened when other non-normal types of Pokemon were put through it, but it probably wasn't good. And it's illegal to put Pokemon through the machine when the effects could seriously injure—"

Dustin held up a hand. "So you are basically upset because you believe that Styx is experimenting on Pokemon?"

Yes, dumbass, that's what I said to begin with. I nodded.

"What if I told you Styx was experimenting on _voluntary _Pokemon?"

"Even if the Pokemon knew the risks, when there's already an effective healing system in place—"

"What if I told you Styx tested this machine on cells in Petri dishes taken from Pokemon?"

I hesitated and then nodded once. "I suppose, that'd be okay."

"Well then that's what she's been doing." Dustin turned his attention back to Styx, playing with her ponytail. "Now that that's dealt with, I was thinking—"

That jerk. I'd find out one way or another what was going on. I pushed my mind into Dustin's and was immediately shoved out. I couldn't even get near Styx's mind.

"Ah, ah. No mind reading for you, Anita." He bent over to whisper in Styx's ear. "Looks like you'll be forced to stick close to me while the pipsqueak's here," he said in mock sadness. "Keep her out of your beautiful mind."

I gagged.

{ANITA!}

I looked down at Apple, who appeared to be powerless to stop Dustin's Eevee from rolling her around the Auto-Restorer.

{Finally, I got your attention. Now can you please get me a haircut?}

"So where's the best haircut place around here?" I asked, giving Styx my best this-is-all-your-fault glare.

"Oh, hmm." There was a flash of red as Dustin released a Zangoose from a Pokeball. "Zangoose, the Eevee's hair."

The Zangoose lifted a claw. No way—I was not about to let a Zangoose _slash_ away Apple's fur. I put up a barrier as Zangoose's claw began descending.

"I'm not going to let your rabid Zangoose tear Apple to bits."

"He was reaching for the scissors on the table," Dustin said.

"Oh." I released the barrier.

"Zangoose is one of the best barbers in town. 'Course, he only works when he's not needed at the gym."

As the Zangoose grinned manically holding the scissors above his head, I felt slightly doubtful. However, a quick probe of the mind revealed that the Zangoose was imagining various fur styles, extremely pleased that he had so much fur to work with.

I scratched my head. "Well, I guess I'm sorry, Dust—"

Dustin was already talking to Styx. "So I was thinking that we go on a lunch date at _Tangala's Salad_—you know, the restaurant by—" Dustin's phone rang. "Sorry, give me a sec." He stepped out of the room.

Styx and I looked at each other. Zangoose looked at Apple. Ray looked at Zangoose's scissors. Chansey looked at all of us, snorted, and left the room. Awkward.

"Styx, I'll be back to pick you up in forty minutes!" Dustin called, running across the room. He took no notice of his leg hitting the Auto-Restorer, or the dirty look Styx gave him after. Dustin opened a window and jumped into a crouch on the windowsill. "Ray, come on." The Eevee gave Apple a final roll before bounding onto Dustin's shoulder. Then the pair leapt out the window.

"His Pidgeot will catch him," Styx said before I could scramble to the window ledge. She started typing things into the Auto-Restorer again, and Zangoose picked Apple up, set her on top of the Auto-Restorer, and began her haircut.

I took a deep breath. Time to change strategies. "Styx, I'm sorry for accusing you of Pokemon abuse, and I'm really thankful you helped Apple."

"Apology accepted," Styx answered, not bothering to look up at me.

"But seriously, how'd you test the machine?"

Styx stopped working. "Have you been checked for OCD? How about just OD—obsessive disorder? The Pokemon Center's attached to the hospital if you want to see someone about your inability to let something petty go."

"If it's so petty, why won't you tell me?" When Styx didn't answer, I said, "Come on, I'm just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Cats have nine lives," I shot back.

"That's why curiosity's so dangerous."

I folded my arms across my chest. "I'm being nice, you know. I could read your mind."

Styx smiled. "Dustin's not the only one with a few tricks. I could stop you if I needed to. However, I don't think there's a need. I have a proposition."

"You couldn't stop me—you wouldn't even know I was in your mind." With that I sent a small strand of energy to her head. It wasn't deflected.

{I know you're in my head now. And I know you were touching my mind just as Dustin entered the room. Now if you'll kindly leave so we can discuss my proposition,} Styx thought. I tried to dig deeper into her head, but she made it extremely difficult by concentrating entirely on Dustin—the way he smelled, his arms around her, his lips—

I left her mind immediately. "That was a low blow and _way_ too much information."

Styx smiled. "Now my proposition. There's something you need."

"Of course—money, a new bike, a hundred Masterballs, lifelong happiness—"

"My terms are you stop trying to get into my head, and stop asking about my testing methods—" Styx suddenly stared past my shoulder, frowning. "Turn the TV off of mute," she demanded.

I looked over my shoulder. On the screen, there was a Pokemon battle in the sky above a ship. A Pidgeot and Togekiss clashed, flew apart, and crashed together again. I squinted at the Pokemon's riders. "Is that Dustin?"

Zangoose stopped cutting Apple's fur. Apple's partially cut coat made her resemble a lion… or one of those fancy poodles with a bizarre hair cut.

"Unmute it."

I quickly found the remote on a nearby chair and pressed the mute button.

"Just moments ago, gym leader Dustin Blavoid attacked a passenger on the _S.S. Hoopla_, a seven year old international cruiser. The cause of the attack is unknown. Passengers are being escorted…"

"What's Dustin doing?" I asked Styx.

"I don't know."

There was a flash of red as a Magnemite, Yanmega, Hypno, and Porygon2 appeared. The Hypno began to fall, but quickly stabilized itself with a psychic attack. Dustin and his Pidgeot were surrounded. The camera zoomed in.

"Shit. Who is that?" Dustin's opponent was thin and balding. He wore a black coat that flapped around his Togekiss in the wind. His glasses were crooked on his hooked nose, and his smile gave me the chills.

"Shh," Styx said.

On the screen, Dustin was smirking.

Suddenly, all of the opponent's Pokemon were returned to their Pokeballs, including the Togekiss he was riding. The Pidgeot swooped down. Dustin caught his opponent by the arm, pulling him onto his Pidgeot, and locking his hands behind his back.

Styx sighed in relief. "How'd he do that?" I asked.

"Dustin can mimic any nearby Pokemon's attack. The moment the Hypno used psychic to keep itself in the air, that man with the Togekiss was done for."

"So Dustin mimicked psychic, using his stolen ability to press the buttons on that man's PokeBalls and return the Pokemon…" I muttered. This gym leader might be tricky to beat.

Dustin landed in front of the camera. "Jamie Arkle, as gym leader of Artemis Town I, Dustin Blavoid, am placing you under arrest. You have been charged with manslaughter, breaking and entering, and theft among other crimes. Most notably, you are being charged with being the leader—the _Master_—of the notorious crime organization, Team Glop'emm_._"

As Dustin led the man toward a group of Officer Jennys, I put the television back on mute. "That's the guy in charge of Team Glop'emm?"

"Apparently," Styx replied.

I looked at Styx slyly. Now would be the perfect time— "Don't even think about entering my mind," Styx said. "The proposition."

I let out a half chuckle. What the heck was with this girl? She didn't know a thing about me, she was clearly obsessed with Dustin, she could understand Pokemon, and she wanted to make some kind of whacked deal to keep me from bugging her. Maybe she was a less powerful psychic and could only detect when I was in her mind? But reading thoughts of Pokemon would take a little more power than that.

"In exchange for my terms stated earlier and no further investigations on your part into my life, I'll discuss Liam Mendol's Forced Transformation Device with you."

What. The. Hell. Apple and I looked at each other and then back at Styx.

"I'll even help you destroy it."


	40. Identification, Please

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hey guys. So I totally wanted to get this out on the 15th, but that didn't happen because the next chapter is ridiculously long! (I always write a chapter ahead of what I post) I'm still trying to get out another chapter by the end of this month, but don't hold your breath (that will likely result in death). I'll do my best.

ChaosAngel4us - Yeah, Anita's in a tough spot. Lucky for her so is Liam. I kind of can't help loving Dustin though...

OBR - Ah, can't wait to show you about Jamie and everyone :) Might have to wait a few chaps though. Promise the suspense is worth it though.

japaneserockergirl - I am so glad you reviewed and like this fanfic. I'm doing my very best and promise to keep writing, even if it takes me till after college to finish. I owe it to you amazing readers, to my characters, and to my awesome, dedicated editor.

Thank you to my wonderful readers and reviewers- you guys encourage me to keep at it! Random recommendation of the day: Kusheil's Dart and all the sequels by Jacqueline Carey - great romance fantasy if you're into that kinda thing, but for mature readers.

Without further ado, here's the previously... (kinda long today)

_Previously on An Apple A Day:_

Mel was adopted by Sparky Storm, gym leader of Cape Caution. Mel's father left him at an early age, when Mel couldn't control his ghost gift and became a ghost for several months. His father believed Mel dead. Professor Chris Blubber lives in Cape Caution; Erin worked for him until he wanted Erin to stay with him in Cape Caution.

Anita arrives in Artemis Town, and runs into the gym leader, Dustin Blavoid, as well as his odd girlfriend, Styx. Styx works at the Pokemon Center and heals Apple's burns, with the side effect of making Apple's fur grow out. Dustin's Zangoose is a renowned barber and cuts Apple's fur.

Dustin arrests Jamie Arkle as soon as he arrives on a boat from Slateport City, suspected of being the leader of Team Glop'emm.

Anita suspects something is odd about Styx, but can't figure out what—Styx can tell when Anita's reading her mind and can understand Pokemon. She thinks Styx may be psychically gifted.

Meanwhile, Liam is forced to use Sticky (Rita's Ditto sent to prove the Forced Transformation Device works) to help transport him, Erin, and Jake to Artemis Town.

Nai Shivicle, gym leader of Winsk City, investigates the appearance of a black haired teen the gym leaders suspect was Liam Mendol in Winsk City. She stops at Professor Seth Robert Hasting's house, where she finds evidence that Professor Hastings may have been holding Mendol hostage. Professor Hastings is arrested.

Styx reveals to Anita that she knows about the Forced Transformation Device, the device Rita Teal invented for the Master that untransforms Pokemon with a single touch. Styx offers to help Anita destroy it.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 37: Identification, Please

"Okay," I said. "Back up. How do you know about Liam's untrasforming thingy—what'd you call it—Forced Transformation Device? How do you even know I was traveling with Liam?" Silently, I told Apple, {Get ready to hit that Zangoose and run. I'm not sure you're safe here.}

Apple tensed, preparing to leap off the Auto-Restorer. If the Zangoose took any notice, he failed to show it, continuing to cut her tail fur while dramatically humming, {Now let me show you the shape of my part.} There was a growing mound of fur on the floor.

"The deal is that I don't have to tell you anything about myself or how I acquire information," Styx replied.

"Then how do you expect me to trust you?"

"I healed your Eevee, my boyfriend's a gym leader, and I know your identity." Styx leaned against the sink in the corner of the room.

"My identity?"

"Yes, I know you're Mew."

My eyes widened. Whoa, she thought _I_ was Mew. I would've laughed if this weren't such a serious situation. "You're delusional," I said.

Styx merely smiled. "So do you accept my terms of the deal? No more questions about me, and I'll help you get rid of the Forced Transformation Device."

I was careful not to look at Apple. {What do you think?}

{Whatever,} Apple said.

"Fine," I said.

"Alright. The Forced Transformation Device locates the tiny portion of DNA in your brain that remains the same when you transform, and uses this DNA to reverse the transformation. If the device touches you, you'll turn back to Mew."

I rolled my eyes.

Styx continued, "Liam has recently changed the appearance of the device to make it look like a vaccine."

I watched Styx doubtfully as she twirled a blonde strand of hair around her finger. "Are you sure about that—about whatever sources you're getting this information from?" I asked.

"Absolutely."

"All right, so do you have a plan?"

"Yup. Just stay away from the device tonight and make sure Liam comes with you to the gym tomorrow. I'll take care of everything from there." Styx abruptly rose, nodding to the Zangoose, who had finished cutting Apple's fur. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch date. A Chancey'll be here shortly to escort you to the room Apple can stay in overnight."

Bewildered, I watched her ponytail swish through the doorframe as she exited, followed closely by the Zangoose.

{How'd she know Liam's going to arrive tonight?} I asked.

{How'd she know any of that stuff?} Apple grumbled. She pounced from the top of the Auto-Restorer into the pile of her fur on the floor, causing tufts of fur to float about. {I miss my powers. You should've entered her mind anyway.}

{But she can tell when I'm in her mind. You think she's psychic?}

{Did you feel any power?}

{Err, I don't know. A little? Not like most psychic Pokemon, anyway.}

Apple trotted to my chair, leaping onto my lap. {Then I don't think she's a psychic—unless, of course she's a strong enough psychic to hide her abilities.}

Apple and I contemplated the matter a little longer, but could come to no real conclusion.

As Styx had said, a Chancey arrived within minutes and led us up a set of stairs and down a long hallway. The room Apple would be allowed to stay in through the night was the second from the end. There was a large window overlooking Artemis Town's dome-shaped gym on one end of the room and a small bed near the door. Apple jumped onto the bed. I sat in a plastic chair by the door.

{We need to talk about Liam,} Apple said. {He'll be arriving soon.}

{I have a plan.}

{I know.}

Wait, how could she…oh! {You're starting to recover your powers?} I asked excitedly. Dealing with Liam would be so much easier with her psychic help.

{No, you were flashing me images the whole Lanturn ride.} Apple looked at me with her nose scrunched. {Do you seriously not even notice when you're showing me your thoughts any more, when our minds are connected?}

{Geez, you don't have to go all high and mighty, looking at me like I'm not using my gift right. I mean, we've been sharing thoughts for so long that I do it automatically.}

{The whole point of being a psychic is being able to protect your thoughts and gain information from others. Projecting your own thoughts—}

{Again, Apple, its just with you!} A light bulb shattered. {Damn it,} I swore, though the lighting in the room seemed unaffected. Sunlight beamed into the room from the window.

{Whoever manufactures light bulbs in Acceber must be making a fortune off of you,} Apple commented. {Just be careful, Anita,} Apple said seriously. {It's dangerous to let your guard down when connected to someone's mind—it can even give whoever you're connected to full access to your thoughts and memories.}

Before I could exasperatedly repeat that Apple was the only being I constantly shared thoughts with, Apple reminded me, {Liam. Your plan.}

I put my complaint on hold. {Right.}

{You're going to need to learn telekinesis or rather, you're going to need to control of your telekinesis. From what I saw of your experience with Sparky, you definitely have the ability and power; control is the only issue.}

{You've got until Erin and Liam arrive to teach me,} I said, looking at my PokeTech. I'd be occupied with keeping Liam as far away from this room as possible when he arrived.

{Then let's start. This might be difficult without my powers—it'll be easiest if you remember as best you can every detail of your state of mind when you threw Sparky against a wall.}

{Er, you sure you want that?} I asked.

{Yes.}

{Alright…} Images flashed across my mind: Apple missing from an austere room underground, Apple in the ocean nearly drowned, Apple's fur standing on end as a Celebi hovered—

_CRASH_

All the glass in the room shattered. Oops.

Apple sighed. {Looks like we have a lot of work to do.}

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Jake held open the Pokemon Center door for me. I glanced at Liam, who was looking at the giant dome-shaped Pokemon gym on our left. "Sometimes I think you should be more like Jake," I said. "For all his obnoxiousness, he's a gentleman."

"That's an outdated point of view," Liam said, turning his attention to our right, where there was a line of shops. He'd seemed especially on guard since we entered Artemis Town.

I smiled at Jake and walked through the Pokemon Center entrance. When Liam followed, Jake let the door fall in his face.

Once inside the Pokemon Center, a Chancey pointed us to the room reservation counter. I'd been to Artemis Town in the past, but I've always been amazed at how well organized the Artemis Pokemon Center was despite its size.

Liam and Jake fell in step behind me.

"And I thought you were decent at one time," Liam muttered to Jake.

"Yeah, well, once it was clear that you have a thing for Erin, all bets were off."

I glanced over my shoulder, smiling. "That's right. Liam and I are very happy together."

"You're an idiot," Liam said to Jake, snickering.

"Remember when I battled you, and you lost?" Jake shot back. That wiped the smirk off of Liam's face. "And for the record, I didn't think there was actually something going on between you and Erin until you spent the ride on the Ditto with your head over Erin's shoulder."

I hadn't noticed—oh. Liam had been reading the poetry book over my shoulder. Evil. I reached behind my head to tighten the drawstrings on my pack. My book. Then I smiled at Liam sweetly, batting my eyelashes—might as well take advantage of his situation's inadvertent outcome.

"Erin's an ass," Liam said. I turned around; we had reached the counter, but I could practically feel Liam's glare on the back of my neck.

"No, but she sure does have a pretty nice—"

"Boys!" I snapped. Behind the counter, a woman with long blonde hair in a high ponytail raised her eyebrows. "Sorry," I told the woman. "May I speak with a Nurse Joy? I'd like to request two rooms."

Across the trainer-filled lobby, a Nurse Joy yelled, "Styx, you're needed in room twelve!"

The blonde woman yelled back, "Just a sec." She turned back to me. "I work here, too. Make this quick. What type of rooms? Let me see your IDs."

"Two doubles," I said, as Jake, Liam, and I flashed our IDs.

"I am not sleeping next to this idiot," Liam said.

"You've slept near me for the past two nights—" Jake started.

"So one single and one triple it is," the woman said, typing into her computer. She pulled out four sets of keys from under the granite counter and handed them to me. "Pokemon to be healed?"

Jake and I put all of our PokeBalls on the counter. The woman turned to Liam, her eyes resting on the PokeBalls clipped to his belt. "Pokemon?" she asked.

"You should probably heal Sticky. That Ditto carried us all afternoon," I said.

Liam placed one PokeBall next to mine and Jake's.

"They'll be ready to be picked up by tomorrow morning," the woman said. She scooped up the PokeBalls and started to walk away from the counter, toward the operating rooms.

"Wait!" I said. "Our friend, Anita Parkwood, probably brought her Eevee here recently. If they're here, can we see them? Or if they got a room, could you tell us which?"

"They're in an overnight care room, and Anita did not book a room for herself. Anita may stay with her Pokemon until eight-o'clock p.m., but general visiting hours are over so I'm afraid I can't let you see them." The blonde woman smiled. "Sorry." She turned away and left through the double doors that led to the operating rooms. The trainers in line behind us looked annoyed, craning their necks in search of someone else to help them.

I pulled Jake and Liam off to the edge of the room, near the stairs that led to the upper levels, where our rooms for the night were. "Alright, give me your stuff. I'll go drop it off in the rooms, and I'll call Anita. You two go find a restaurant to eat at. It'll be super busy this time of day so it might take you guys a bit."

"I'd rather wait for Anita," Liam said. He frowned at Jake.

"Well isn't that sweet," I said. I took Liam's bag from his shoulder. "Call me when you guys find a place." I walked up the stairs, not leaving room for argument. Without anyone checking out the room with me, I could lay claim to the highly sought-after top bunk. Muwahaha.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Liam and Jake walking away. Liam, hunched over with his hands in his pockets suddenly froze. He stared a moment off somewhere I couldn't see, then made a beeline for the exit. It took a moment for Jake to realize Liam had left him, but when he did, he quickly ran after.

Curious, I stepped down a few stairs and looked at what Liam might have seen. There was a tall man—no, teenager—leaning over a counter. Mmm, this guy was good looking, probably about eighteen years old, with nice arms and dirty blond hair. Huh, maybe Liam was into guys. I shrugged and climbed back up the stairs.

Once I found our small triple, I tossed Liam's bag on the floor and rummaged through my shrinkable wardrobe. I pulled out a few pairs of pink underwear and strategically placed them on the top bunk. Then I called Anita via PokeTech.

No answer.

I folded my arms, annoyed. On my way back to the staircase, I spotted a door at the end of the hall that read _Employees Only._

I smiled and turned around, heading back to the room.

In a matter of minutes, I returned to the door dressed in a Nurse Joy outfit I'd borrowed from my mother's closet once for a school play. Obviously, I'd never gotten around to actually returning the outfit. I mean, the white skirt was adorable and fit me perfectly. Who wouldn't keep it?

The top was a little big, but it was suitable for this purpose. If anyone asked about my hair, I'd just say I was in too much of a hurry to tie it up in the traditional hair loops.

Unsurprisingly, the door was locked so I walked down the stairs, made my way through the crowd of trainers to where I could slide behind the counter and push through the double doors that led to the operating rooms.

I passed several bustling nurses and Chanceys, none of who questioned me.

In order to find a computer to look up what room Anita was in, I had to go to the checkup rooms on the second floor—I didn't have access to any of the operating rooms. After taking the elevator up a floor, I was dismayed to find the first three rooms I encountered locked. Heading towards the fourth room on my left, I glanced down the hall and saw a general use computer against the wall at the end of the hallway.

As I approached the computer, I heard murmuring from an open doorway. "Sticky, you've got to trust me on this." I peeked through the doorway as I passed and saw the blonde woman who had helped us at the counter. She was speaking to Liam's Ditto, a pink puddle on the floor.

I didn't dare stop walking, but I heard Sticky reply, "Very difficult. Very hard to bel-ieve."

I wondered if there was some kind of new healing method the woman wanted to try on Sticky. Then I wondered how Liam would react if something went wrong and Sticky ended up seriously injured. He obviously didn't like his own Pokemon, nor had he ever shown signs of particularly caring about anyone else's.

But this was Liam—he tried to pretend he didn't care about anything. Who knew if he _actually_ cared?

I reached the computer. Luckily no password was required to gain access. I found a file called _"Patient Listing"_ under the recently accessed folder and quickly found Apple and Anita's room to be room number sixty-four. I closed the program, turned around, and froze.

Walking towards me was the older teenager I'd seen Liam scrambling away from. I relaxed my legs, forcing them to move with confidence, as if I really was a nurse at this Pokemon Center. The guy stopped at the door of the room Sticky was in.

"So whose Pokemon's keeping you late at work, away from me?" the guy asked, leaning against the doorframe. He had lovely golden eyes and—don't laugh at me—the best shaped nose I'd ever seen—not too narrow and with the right amount of roundness at the tip.

Ugh, too bad he was taken. That blonde woman was so lucky.

I walked past the door as the blonde woman answered, "Liam Mendol's Ditto."

"Mendol's _here_? In Artemis Town?" I slowed my pace, my interest piqued. What did he have to do with Liam? Would it be suspicious if I stopped walking in the middle of the hall? What if they caught me eavesdropping? I wondered how much trouble I'd get in if I were caught impersonating a nurse.

"Shh, Dustin, there's no need to yell. Some patients are sleeping. And how do you know Liam Mendol?" I heard the woman say. I watched the doorway from over my shoulder.

"He's who we've been looking for. Well, who the others have been looking for anyway. You know my view on the situation." Dustin stepped out of the doorway into the hall, with his hands on his head. I wasn't sure if he was looking at me, but I quickened my pace, reached the elevator, and pressed the up button. _Calm down, Erin_, I thought, trying to ignore my erratic heart_. He doesn't know I'm not a nurse. He doesn't know_—

"Hey!"

Shit.

I heard his footsteps approaching and pressed the elevator button again. I had to force my eyes from darting back to check how close pretty-guy-what's-his-name—Dustin—was.

"Hey." There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and found myself looking at the guy's Adam's apple. "I think you dropped this." He placed a pen in my hand. I could've laughed in relief. I looked up, meeting his amused gaze.

He frowned. "Aren't you a little young to be a nurse?"

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Thank god. I stepped backwards. "Yup, I'm super young for a nurse, skipped four grades, graduated early, I'm super smart—I can do a crossword puzzles in four minutes and sudokus in three, oops, sorry, but I gotta go check up on a patient—we'll talk again soon, I'm sure, thanks for the pen, bye-bye now."

The elevator doors closed.

I let out a breath and pressed the six button, muttering curses under my breath. I always had trouble acting in front of cute guys.

And how did he know Liam? Hmm, maybe I would dig into this a bit more—for research's sake, of course. I grinned.

When I reached the sixth floor, I found Apple's room easily enough. I twisted the silver door handle.

For a split second, I saw through the door opening a beautiful floating glass ball. The glass moved fluidly, folding upwards so that the ball stretched, like a moving mosaic. Only a moment, did I see the reflections of wild colors through the glass, spattered across the walls and Anita's face—

And then the glass fell, shattering into even smaller pieces across the floor. Anita looked at me, the glow in her eyes fading. Next to Anita, curled on a small bed atop a bundle of blankets, Apple slept. She looked much healthier than when I'd seen her though Anita's PokeTech.

I waved my hand and mouthed, "Come on, dinner."

Anita held up a finger. Her eyes glowed again, and the glass dust on the floor moved as if it was a wave in the ocean, washing up against wall. Then, the pieces shot off into the far corner of the room. Anita tucked Apple under a blanket before getting up to follow me.

As Anita closed the door from outside the room, she said, "Visiting hours are over."

I gestured to my clothing. "Thus, this outfit. Come on, Jake and Liam are waiting for us at some restaurant."

Anita hesitated. "But Apple—"

"Is asleep. She's fine. Plus, you'd have to leave anyway in an hour."

Anita nodded. "Hold on a sec." She pulled out a PokeBall and released Fiery. She gave Fiery a stern look, and after a moment, reopened the door to Apple's room. The Flareon marched in the room, his eyes narrowed in on Apple. Even though Apple appeared to be sleeping, I swear I saw just the barest hint of a smile on her face as Anita closed the door.

"So are you finally getting the hang of your powers?" I asked, walking to the elevator and pressing the down button.

"Kind of. I can't figure out how I moved big things when I was upset, like with Sparky. Little things though—glass bits, dust, whatever—I can get them to stick in barriers I've made, and I've gotten really good at bending barriers." The elevator doors opened. Anita glanced at me. "Hey, don't tell Liam, okay? I want to master it and then surprise him in one of our training sessions."

"Ooh, let me know when that's going to happen. I definitely want to see his face." I widened my eyes and put my hand up to my mouth. "He'll probably look like this."

"Nah." Anita scrunched her nose and opened her mouth wide. "He'll look like this."

We giggled as the elevator doors closed, making faces at each other all through the elevator ride. Needless to say, when the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, half a dozen nurses screamed at our bizarre expressions.

Anita and I decided that face-making would become a tradition on all of our future elevator rides.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Professor Blubber, wait! I can fix it! Professor!"

I continued down the path at a steady pace, attempting to keep my breathing steady. A difficult feat for an angry, overweight man trying to out-walk an idiot research—I mean _ex_-idiot research assistant. I patted my stomach lightly. Maybe I should consider lying off the cheese for a few months.

"Professor!" Ronny, the idiot assistant, caught up to me, his brown mop of hair bobbing up and down as he slowed his jog.

"Ronny, I told you, you're fired."

"But Professor—"

"You shorted out the electric generator that supplies energy to maintain the proper climate in both Eevee habitats. What do you want me to do?"

"It was an accident!"

"The generator's circuit board is covered in ketchup and PokeBlocks, Ronny," I said exasperatedly. Oh, how I missed Erin. She would have never gone near the generator, much less pour food in it.

"The Eevees like their PokeBlocks in ketchup. And it's not my fault the generator box looks just like the door—"

"Ronny, go back to the lab, pack up your stuff, and leave. You can find another Professor to work for, become a trainer, join the circus—whatever—but you will not be working for me any longer." I'd have to find another young kid interested in research to help me out—the cute middle school teacher, Ilene, could help me pick out potentials. Anyone was better than this boy.

Ronny stopped running, looking dejected. I didn't break stride to turn around and see if he was heading back to the lab; I just continued toward the Cape Caution gym, careful not to look directly at the sun glare off the gym's roof.

I was in luck: Sparky Storm was battling some kid in front of the gym. I wouldn't have to pick my way through his gym's halls, trying not to get killed by trap doors, frenzied robots, or whatever other booby traps Sparky had set up.

"Come on, Rotom! I know an Eevee that learned shadow ball faster than you," the kid yelled. Sparky's Jolteon was toying with the kid's Rotom, shooting off thundershocks just behind the it, and scaring the poor ghost Pokemon into motion.

Sparky spotted me climbing up the hill to his gym and immediately came to meet me, leaving his Jolteon to battle the Rotom unaided. He somehow walked faster than I'd ever seen a man of his age walk; I wondered what his secret was to keeping so fit.

"Professor Blubber, what can I do for you?" he asked, reaching a wrinkled hand out to shake my own. I took it warily, watching a spark dance up his sleeve, disappearing beneath his collar. Sparky was a strange old man—I hadn't been pleased to hear he was to be the new gym leader three years ago. Sparky was showy—always was doing magic tricks for crowds, eager to please. He pulled pranks on those who didn't immediately take a liking to him; I'd once returned to the lab to find my kitchen entirely coated in a thick layer of my homemade cheese.

We didn't share the same sense of humor.

I've never figured out how he managed to cover my entire kitchen with cheese, nor how he makes sparks flutter across his clothing.

However, despite my initial doubts, Sparky has proven over the years to be an effective leader, acting extremely professional when it comes to matters within the city.

I said, "There was an accident in the lab, and now one of my electric generators is broken beyond repair. I need a temporary power source until I get a new one."

Sparky turned around and called over his shoulder, "Hey, Sparkles, you hear that? Stop battling the lad, go back to the lab with Professor Blubber to supply power, and I'll catch up with you soon." The Jolteon nodded and in an instant was by my side. Sparky turned back to me. "Sparkles will be able to supply electricity while I build you a new generator."

I shook my head. "That's completely unnecessary. I can buy—"

"Why buy an overpriced generator when your neighbor will build you one for free, eh?" Sparky elbowed me and winked. "I've been looking to teach my son a thing or two about circuits anyway. Oh, you haven't met my adopted son yet, have you?" Sparky gestured over his shoulder to the blonde boy he'd been battling. "The lad likes ghost Pokemon so I bought him a Rotom as a welcome present—perfect blend of ghost and electricity, right?"

I looked past Sparky's shoulder at the boy. He was scowling at his Rotom, a finger pointed at the Jolteon by my side. Huh, he looked eerily similar to…

Wait. No, it couldn't be. How…?

"That boy," I said uncertainly. I took a few steps forward, squinting.

"Mel," Sparky supplied.

The boy looked directly at me. There was no doubt about it. "He's the one who disappeared years ago. His father—everyone—we thought he was dead. That's Professor Seth Robert Hasting's son."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I lay flat on my bed, psychically churning the dust behind Erin's unshrunken wardrobe. My hair was wet from a shower and my belly full from the delicious pizza place we'd eaten at. Because Liam was just across the room, reading something off of his PokeTech on his bed, I kept my eyes closed to hide their glow.

Psychically bending barriers feels something like attempting to stretch a taut muscle. When I create a barrier, I rapidly shove psychic energy to a focused area—it's like tensing an arm or leg. To stretch a muscle, I have to relax. Same goes for bending barriers—the more relaxed my mind is, the easier it is to change the barrier's shape.

While practicing with Apple, she had explained that telekinesis was simply tightly wrapping a barrier around an object and then manipulating the barrier in any way the psychic wished. Levitation, for instance.

According to Apple, I'd had little trouble imagining the right shape and size of barriers because I was a very visual person. I struggled, however, in providing power to the objects I was trying to move telekinetically.

{Where do my powers come from?} I'd asked her.

{You were born with them.} Apple licked her paw.

{That's not what I mean. I mean where is it—inside me? Do I convert the food I eat into psychic energy or something?}

{I know what you mean, and the only theories I've heard are complicated, hard to explain, and probably wrong.}

{How can I get to the power if I don't even know where it's coming from?} I'd asked Apple.

Apple rolled her eyes. {At this very moment, you're psychically communicating with me. Do you know where the power to do that is coming from? Just remember what it was like when you used telekinesis in the past, and you'll get it eventually.}

{Does the power come from emotion?}

{No. Emotion is one of several keys that allows access to your psychic abilities, though.}

So I'd tried lifting a pencil psychically. It snapped in half. I'd tried moving a chair. Nothing happened. I'd tried pushing Apple. She yelled at me.

Finally, I'd reverted to practicing my manipulation of normal barriers. To both my and Apple's surprise, a few of the broken glass light bulb bits on the floor had moved with my barrier. Apple said that the pieces were too small to break under the pressure I was exerting and thus when my barrier was formed, it simply surrounded the pieces.

After a few hours of practice, I could easily manipulate a mass of small particles, but when I'd tried to use this technique on Apple's food dish, the dish was sliced in half.

I let the dust settle beneath Erin's wardrobe. If I could slice a dish in half, I could probably slice other things in half. That scared me a little. More than a little. I mean, with that kind of power, I could kill someone—slice right through a person's lungs, heart, or brain. I hadn't talked with Apple about it, but I needed to. What if I lost control and…

No more thoughts like that, I willed. I focused on relaxing my body, starting with my toes. Apple'd recommended practicing relaxing both my mind and body as a psychic exercise.

The bathroom door opened, and Erin exited surrounded by steam, her hair wrapped in a towel. She was wearing her pink fluffy pajamas. "Your turn, Liam," she said.

Liam grunted in response, got up from his bed, and went into the bathroom. I watched the door. He hadn't even removed his PokeBalls or the syringe Styx had told me was the Forced Transformation Device from his belt before entering the bathroom. Tonight, I'd have to keep on guard to make sure Liam didn't leave the room. He couldn't get to Apple. I'd stay up all night if I had to.

There was a knock on the door. Already closest to the door, Erin swung it open.

It really could only be one person.

"Hello, ladies," Jake said, casually leaning an arm up against the doorframe.

"Go to bed, Jake," Erin said.

"Nice pjs."

"I take it back. Go to hell, Jake."

"I just need to have a quick word with Anita."

I reluctantly sat up, careful to duck slightly to avoid hitting my head on the top bunk. I'd already done that twice today. "What do you want?"

"So tomorrow, we're going to the gym, right?"

"I'm going to the gym," I said.

"Well, I thought we should be partners. I'm an awesome trainer and you're decent enough to not get in my way so we'll beat the gym for sure."

"Huh?"

"The Artemis Town gym is run by twins, and they require trainers to challenge the gym in pairs."

"I'm with Erin. Go to hell, Jake."

"I'll give you tonight to think about it." He closed the door.

I turned to Erin. "Let's not wake him up tomorrow."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In nothing but a pair of boxers, I turned the shower's hot water on and crouched on the bathroom floor between the toilet and the shower. It was unfortunate that I'd had to stoop to such measures, but the shower ensured that nobody would overhear my conversation. I plucked the walkie-talkie from my belt and pressed the call button.

"Master?"

"Rita Teal, you have just officially inherited the position of temporary Master."

"I saw on the news, sir."

"Let Jamie Arkle's arrest be a warning to you, Rita. Do not forget who I am. Do not forget my connections. Do not forget my power. I am Team Glop'emm's Master, and you will follow my orders."

"Of course."

"That aside, Rita, I have the utmost respect for your abilities and confidence in your leadership. The FTD is outstanding."

"Th—thank you. Have you found…?"

"I'm close." I paused a moment, considering the rare intuitive nagging at the back of my mind. Not often did I have a so-called "gut" feeling. Some scientists supposed these feelings were reflections of connections made in the subconscious mind, which had not quite blossomed into conscious thoughts. I supposed it couldn't hurt. "Professor Teal, what do you know about Professor Seth Hastings, the author of a poetry book entitled Mysteries of Nature?"

"He's the crazy one who lives in Winsk City, right?"

"Yes."

"That's all I know about him."

"Look into it," I said.

"Master?" Rita hesitated. "Sticky, is she…? If you don't need her any more…"

"She will be sent back tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Master out." I hung up and tucked the walkie back into my belt. I hoped to find Rita Teal more trustworthy than Jamie Arkle. She lacked the ideal ambition necessary for long-term leadership, but she would do for the short period of time I expected necessary to capture Mew before I returned to the position of Master. It was a pity Jamie had betrayed me—a waste.

I showered quickly. By the time I slipped under the covers, Erin was snoring and Anita lying above her covers very still. Perhaps too still for her to be asleep. I listened to her breathing carefully; it was uneven. So not asleep yet.

I'd waited a long time to test the FTD on Anita. I could wait a few more hours.

It was an hour and forty-two minutes before Anita's breathing evened out. By that time the moon was high in the sky, illuminating the bits of silver fibers woven into our room's carpet. A thrill trickled down my spine as I stepped out of my bed into the moonlight. I took a moment to bask, enjoy the warmth building up in my stomach and chest that always accompanied moonlight.

I picked up the Forced Transformation Device from my nightstand and approached Anita silently.

Asleep, Anita was bundled in a large wad of blankets, her hands and face sticking out like limbs of a turtle. As I've noted before, she didn't much resemble a powerful being that could destroy lives in an instant.

But as I've learned time and time again, danger often lurks where unexpected.

In one hand I held a twined PokeBall Rita had designed long ago—the day I'd found out my father had gone after Mew with a hand-made dark net. A twined PokeBall would be much more efficient and left significantly less room for error than the net.

In my other hand, I held the fake syringe. In a few instants, I'd know, and I might, just might… I touched the cool, metal tip of the syringe to the skin of Anita's face up palm. There was a spark and—

Nothing.

Anita opened her eyes. Purple eyes. The color mocked me, laughing at my failure. I'd never hated a color so much.

Anita Parkwood was not Mew.

I swiveled around and left the room. The door slammed behind me.

This was unlike me.

I should've been planning my next move—not running up flights of stairs like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Yet, I continued to run until I reached the Pokemon Center's flat rooftop. Then I swung my legs up onto the ledge and sat facing the sea with my legs dangling, allowing the moon to calm me.

So what, Anita was not Mew.

The breeze cooled my skin and slowly, my heart slowed to a steady beat. I looked at my bare feet; I hadn't even bothered to put on a pair of shoes. The bottoms of my feet stung from the roof's uneven surface.

Who was I kidding? I was angry and disappointed. I'd thought… No, I'd _hoped_ Anita was Mew. The evidence wasn't substantial enough for me to not take other possibilities into consideration, and yet I'd become so focused, narrow-minded, obsessed—

Perhaps after so many years of searching without a lead, I'd jumped at the first clue. My conclusions were hasty.

And maybe, just maybe, I wanted this tireless search to be over. I felt guilty for thinking it—Landon, my mother, my aunt, Lily's parents—they all deserved revenge, and all of mankind needed to be protected against these dangerous legendaries. Ridding the world of Mew would make for a safer world.

But it was a long journey. A journey I wasn't sure I wanted to be life-long.

If Anita was Mew, the journey would've been complete, ended, over, and I would've found out whether capturing and destroying Mew gave me the satisfaction I'd yearned since Landon's funeral. Whether destroying legendary Pokemon was worth devoting my life to.

I knew couldn't bring my cousin back, but this was the least I could do for his unlived life. And if I didn't hunt down legendaries, who would?

Anita wasn't Mew.

Fine. That left Apple and the rest of Anita's Eevee's to be tested. If it wasn't any of them…

I supposed I'd be traveling back to Drape Town, resuming my role as Master until another lead was found. Strangely, I found the thought slightly disheartening.

I heard the door to the roof creak open. Soft, careful footsteps on the concrete roof approached me. Anita, dressed in the large Pokemon League t-shirt she'd worn to bed, running shorts, and tennis shoes, hung her legs over the roof's edge and slid next to me.

We sat in silence for a moment. I watched the moon. She watched me.

"We need to talk."

Perhaps Jamie had been right and it would've been more effective to take Anita in for questioning. I still could, I thought. I could torture her right here, on the roof, or drag her back to Drape Town.

"I know you're looking for Mew," she said calmly.

My eyes snapped to hers. She just… What game was she playing at? "The very fact that you've revealed this to me illustrates that you are indeed somehow linked to Mew," I said, keeping the disbelief I felt out of my voice.

"I know." I watched her carefully as her wide eyes searched mine. Then her gaze shifted past me, to the distant Mint Mountain. "I want to know why, and don't give me that business crap. Now you know that it is very much my business."

Below in Artemis Town, it was very quiet. There were very few people about—a homeless man sleeping on a park bench, a woman in nice clothes clicking her heels down the street, and a couple of teenagers covering the backside of the PokeMarket with graffiti. Noctowls hooted in the trees.

I decided it would be unbeneficial to reveal exactly what my intensions were regarding Mew so I stayed silent.

"Do you want to be the best trainer or something? But you don't even like your own Pokemon."

Again, I said nothing.

Anita kicked a leg in the air and the heel of her shoe bounce against the brick wall we sat atop. "Ugh, you are the most frustrating person I've ever met."

"What gave it away?" I asked.

"I know what that syringe thing on your belt does. That untransformer."

"How?"

She didn't answer. Perhaps she'd read Sticky's mind. I should've foreseen the consequences of testing the Forced Transformation Device on Sticky.

"Is one of your Pokemon Mew?" I asked.

"First of all, it's unfair of you to expect me to answer questions when you won't answer mine." Anita closed her eyes and slid her hands down the ledge, closer to her body. "Second of all, no matter how I answer, you'll suspect them."

"Quite a dilemma," I said tonelessly.

For a long five minutes, we sat in silence. When I finally turned my head to glare at her, the corner of her mouth quirked upwards. "No," she said, mimicking the lack of emotion in my voice. "Not one of my Pokemon is Mew."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No," she said in the same voice.

"This isn't a game for me, you know," I said.

The grin slipped away from Anita's face. "I wish it were." She swung her legs back onto the rooftop. "Come on, let's go to bed. Will you wake up early for a training session? I want to get one in before the battle with Dustin."

If she could be blasé about the whole situation, then so could I. I raised an eyebrow.

"What? I don't mind training—it's helped me in battles and stuff."

I continued to watch her, smirking.

"Enough of that!" Anita grabbed my hand and tugged. "Off to bed—" She suddenly dropped my hand. "Oh, is that what that look was all about?"

I blinked innocently.

"I leave you with Jake for two days and this is what happens," Anita muttered, walking away from me toward the rooftop exit.

I followed her, so many thoughts in my mind, they jumbled around incoherently. I decided just for this night, I wouldn't think.

I fell asleep with the moonlight beaming through the window, softly brushing my face.


	41. Stuck in a Bind

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hello all! I apologize a billion for not updating sooner. 18 credits was definitely a mistake :( But still aiming for a chapter a month here. At least these next two are pretty long (a very, very lame attempt at compensating for my lateness... sorry). :) Hopefully this one was worth the wait!

ChaosAngel4us- Oh, Jamie is certainly not gone, though being arrested may make matters more difficult for him. Glad you liked the Liam-Master thing :)

OBR- Tehee, if you loved that scene, I think there will be plenty in this chapter you'll like. :)

japaneserockergirl- Poor Anita and Liam aren't getting much time to really think things through here...

infernomonferno- I'm doing my best here!

blueaero- See above. Sorry :(

Thank you guys for all bearing with me while I fail to meet my deadlines. I'm doing my best, I promise! Special thanks to my readers, reviewers, editor, and Q- you guys keep me writing!

_Previously on An Apple A Day_

Anita, Erin, Liam, and Jake arrive in Artemis Town. She quickly meets Styx, the gym leader's girlfriend, who not only knows about Liam's Forced Transformation Device, but agrees to help Anita destroy it. She also believes Anita is Mew. Anita has no clue how or where she's been obtaining this information. Apple stays in a patient room, recovering from burns. Apple teaches Anita some minor telekinesis-Anita can now move small particles like dust with her mind.

While sneaking around the off-limit halways in the Pokemon Center to find Anita (who's with Apple), Erin overhears Dustin (the gym leader of Artemis Town) and Styx discussing Liam.

Professor Blubber recognizes Mel as Professor Hastings's son. Professor Hastings was recently arrested by the gym leaders for being suspected of withholding information about where Liam is. Liam puts Rita Teal temporarily in charge of Team Glop'emm and asks her to look into who Professor Seth Hastings is. Anita admits to Liam that she knows that he's looking for Mew.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 38: Stuck in a Bind

I couldn't sleep. I tried, but thoughts of my conversation with Liam whirled about my head, a tornado of danger, madness, and change. Change certainly.

I wondered if it was a mistake to tell Liam I knew he was looking for Mew.

Finally, after I heard Liam breath steadily, I got out of bed, a PokeBall in hand. I needed a distraction.

I returned the Pokemon Center's quiet rooftop, enjoying the night's light breeze. With the touch of a button, Splash was released from his PokeBall. His bright fur glittered with sparks. I smiled as he zoomed around the rooftop, marveling at his new speed. He hadn't had the chance to run free since Vintage Village, since his evolution.

{I'll be able to catch Vanilla now for sure,} he said gleefully. A stray leaf caught an upward draft, twirling across the rooftop. The moment it touched Splash's fur, it was zapped into sizzling dust.

{We have to train. You need to learn to control electricity.}

{Training! Can we steal that _Dangerous, High Voltage_ sign?} Splash said, eyeing the enclosure that no doubt held the Pokemon Center's backup generator.

{We'll see,} I said, then hesitated. {Splash?}

Splash sensed my seriousness and for once held his attention on me.

{There are some things I'm going to need your help with. Dangerous things I'm not prepared to explain and dangerous secrets that must be kept, well secret.}

{I'll do it, of course. Anything! I'm better at keeping secrets than Vanilla, you know? Once in our old home, Allo pooped on the floor and I didn't tell anyone for weeks—}

{Alright, then. Lets train.}

By the end of the night, anything that touched Splash's fur still sparked and disintegrated, but I was peaceful and sleepy and satisfied with Splash's exuberant effort. I crawled into my bottom bunk and slept.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The sun was already up when I awoke. I rolled over and looked at my PokeTech, which I'd buried under my pillow.

7:30 a.m.

Automatically, I looked to the end of the bunk to see if Apple was up, only to remember she was with Fiery in the Pokemon overnight room. Right, Apple. My eyes darted to Liam's bed. He was still asleep. I'd set an alarm for five in the morning so I'd wake up before he could even attempt to take that Forced Transformation Device anywhere near Apple.

Clearly, that was a failed plan. I clicked through my PokeTech until I got to the alarm setting.

It blinked 5:00 p.m.

I felt ridiculously brainless—if Liam had gotten up, if I'd failed Apple just because of a stupid alarm…

I sat up and glanced back at Liam's bed, feeling lucky he was still asleep. He was always the first one up and usually woke me up for our training sessions—like the one we were supposed to have this morning.

But there Liam was, sleeping with his face into his pillow, the covers half over his body, half falling off the bed. From Erin's soft snores from the top bunk, I figured she wasn't up either.

As I climbed out of bed and quietly got dressed, I thought back to last night's conversation with Liam, again wondering if it was a mistake to tell him I knew he was after Mew.

Last night, before training with Splash, I thought it was. Now... now in the daylight, seeing Liam drool all over his pillow, I thought maybe I'd overreacted. Liam had probably known I knew. Otherwise he wouldn't have followed Erin and me around to begin with, right? And darn it, I'd been right back then—I'd known there was something up with him when we'd first met by Peepin Pond. I would've abandoned him then but nooo, Erin had to have her obnoxious, Mew-chasing, "researching" friend. And now she wasn't even officially a research assistant!

Unfortunately, I couldn't change any of that.

My priority for now was to keep Apple safe. Which meant keeping Apple out of suspicion. Which meant keeping Liam away from Apple until Apple and I could implement our rather vague plan. Which meant I had to get Styx in contact with Liam so she could deal with that dratted untransformer.

All of which indicated I had to find a way to drag Liam to the gym, where Styx said she'd be, without letting him near Apple.

Now that I thought about it, Liam had never watched one of my gym battles. He probably wouldn't be interested in seeing this one either. Getting him to the gym could be a bigger problem than I initially thought.

I eyed the belt lying atop Liam's nightstand. Liam was very protective of the few possessions he had; when I'd reached for his belt on the ship to Vintage Village, the _S.S. Bezzle_, he'd snatched my hand away. Clipped to the belt were six PokeBalls, a pouch that contained the syringe, and a grey walkie-talkie.

Taking the Forced Transformation Device was the equivalent of admitting one of my Pokemon was Mew. That was out of the question. Taking his Pokemon… I wasn't sure. It felt wrong. I mean, Team Glop'emm stole Pokemon.

That left the walkie-talkie. Why the hell did he have a walkie-talkie anyway? I mean, he had a PokeTech. Who held the other end of the walkie? His parents? Or maybe it was one of those emergency phones.

Whatever it was, he wore it every day. I carefully unsnapped it from his belt. When I accidently let the belt clank on the nightstand, my heart pounded loudly in my chest.

Liam's head rolled into the pillow.

When there were no further movements, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I picked up my pack and double-checked my PokeBalls. If Liam was going to the gym, Apple couldn't come, and I'd have to leave Fiery with her just in case. That meant I'd only have my other four Pokemon to use in the battle against Dustin. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. Hopefully the training with Splash would help.

I stepped onto the lower bunk's bed frame and pulled myself up until I my head was eye to eye with Erin's. "Erin," I hissed.

Erin's eyes fluttered. "But I don't want to be a muffin menace," she mumbled.

"Erin, wake up," I whispered.

Erin's eyes opened. Startled, she sat up, making the bed squeak loudly and causing loose pieces of pink fluff from her pajamas to flutter about.

"Shh—I need you to do me a favor."

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I watched out the window, waiting for Anita's signal with excitement and only the slightest twinge of guilt.

For whatever reason, Anita had taken Liam's bulky phone.

The look on Liam's face would be priceless.

Outside, standing in front of a vegetable vendor's stand, Anita squinted towards the Pokemon Center with a hand above her eyes to block the sunlight. When her gaze fell upon my window she grinned and waved Liam's phone in the air.

That was the signal. I turned around. It took only two steps for me to reach Liam's bed; rooms provided by the Pokemon Center really were not very spacious.

Liam was dead to the world—I couldn't even tell he was breathing. It was highly unusual for Liam to sleep this late; I wasn't sure I'd ever even seen Liam asleep. Tentatively, I poked his shoulder. "Liam?"

A muffled groan indicated that Liam was indeed still alive and well.

"Liam, I think you need to get up." I almost smiled at the well-performed worry I heard in my own voice. Almost. Smiling would've ruined the pretense.

Liam sat up, running a hand through his hair. He blinked at the light streaming in through the window. "What time is it?"

"Almost eight," I said. "Err, you might want to look out the window."

Liam looked past me at the bottom bunk. "Where's Anita?"

"Just look out the window." I backed up and sat on Anita's bed, where I would be safe from any sudden, perhaps anger-provoked movement.

Liam untangled the covers from his feet, scooted out of bed, and peered outside. He froze with a hand on the windowsill. Then slowly, his gaze turned to the nightstand, on top of which his belt lied.

I'd been right—the look on Liam's face was priceless.

Craning my neck, I risked a glance out the window. Anita was dancing in front of the vegetable stand, waving the phone in the air.

Liam literally sprinted out of the room, dressed only in boxers and the white t-shirt he'd worn to bed. He only stopped to grab the belt on his nightstand and didn't bother shutting the door on his way out. As the pound of his feet faded down the hall, I heard another door open.

"Hey, what's all the ruckus—Liam?" It was Jake's voice. "Hey, wait! Liam, did Anita go to the gym yet? Is that where you're going? Wait! Wait for me!"

More foot pounding.

I sighed, supposing I should follow.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

_Run._

With the soles of my tennis shoes thumping against the sidewalk and my heart pounding so loud it made my ears ring, I found a new respect for the Melonbi Middle School's track team. I remembered back when my childhood friend, Mia, had asked me to join the team with her, I'd bent over laughing until she aimed a well-placed kick at my shins. I'd chased after her with a shoe, threatening retaliation—she outran me, of course.

You couldn't pay me to run, and the track team—they tortured themselves for _fun_.

However, put an angry, dark-gifted boy hell-bent on retrieving his weird walkie-talkie, which I just so happened to be carrying, on my tail and I'd run until the rubber on my shoes crumbled.

Luckily, I only had to make it to the gym, and I thought I had about a minute and a half head start. I wasn't sure; I'd seen Liam move and he was _fast_.

There weren't many people on the street yet so I ran straight down the middle of the sidewalk, rushing past the colorful shops on my left and the fire hydrants, benches, and planted trees on my right. When I thought about daring a look behind me to see how close Liam was, I swore I could hear Mia's scolding voice: _"The first rule in track is to never look back at your competitors. You'll go faster if you always think they're right behind you."_

So I didn't look. The rhythmic thump of my feet against the sidewalk and my ragged breathing blocked my attempts to listen for Liam's approach.

I could see the massive gym ahead of me buried between office buildings. It was shaped and colored like a massive eggshell.

Only when I reached the gym's front doors did I risk a glance back. Liam was only a block away.

Gasping, I hurled myself through the gym's revolving doors.

My ears popped at the change in air pressure. I was surprised to find the inside of the dome shaped gym just as vast as the outside. Sparky's gym had been divided into several, smaller rooms, and Aden's gym was sectioned between the entrance room, the maze, and the battle arena.

Dustin's gym was spacious and austere. Bright lights lined the ceiling, and several rows of bleachers reflected the light about the gym, creating spots of light on the curved walls. The floor was made of a blue tile atop a gleaming metal—thicker lines of the metal carved out a simple battlefield that stretched in front of me. At the other end of the battlefield, a tiled platform drew my attention, the reflected light from the bleachers seeming to center upon this spot.

There were four large, throne-like chairs on the platform. Two Eevees sat on the center two. One of them had to be Dustin's Eevee, Ray, but I couldn't tell the difference between the two. Dustin sat in the chair on the far right; a woman with fair hair and sharp eyes sat on far left—Dustin's twin.

Directly next to the revolving door Styx stood with her arms akimbo and a grin on her face. "Welcome to—"

Liam shoved his way through the doors and lunged at me. Before I could react, he roughly grabbed the walkie-talkie from my hand, knocking me to the floor in the process.

Trying to calm my breathing, I stared up at Liam as he clipped the walkie to his belt, his relaxed jaw revealing a small glimpse of relief in his impassive expression. He was dressed in only boxers and a t-shirt. No shoes. No socks. He showed no sign of discomfort, despite his bare feet touching the cool floor.

Without acknowledging anyone in the room, Liam turned to leave.

"Welcome to the Artemis Town gym," Styx said ironically. She blocked his path to the revolving door.

"Yes, _Liam Mendol_, please stay," Dustin said. He leaned against an armrest and cupped his scruffy chin in a hand. "I'm honored you made an appearance."

I frowned, disliking Dustin's arrogant tone. And that platform with the chairs was totally an unsubtle treat-me-as-royalty-you-puny-trainer gesture. Asshole. "How do you know Liam?" I demanded.

Liam turned back to face Dustin, glaring. Some undecipherable expression was exchanged. What the heck? I reached my mind to Dustin's—

There was a sharp pain in my head as Dustin psychically shoved the tendril of my mind back at me. "Nice try," he said. Ignoring my question, Dustin addressed Liam. "I appreciate the tip, though I'm not sure what to believe regarding his actual position."

Liam said nothing.

I looked from Dustin to Liam and back to Dustin, trying to figure out what I was missing. Styx was smiling as if nothing was wrong, and Dustin's sister watched Liam warily, clutching the armrests of her chair a bit too tightly.

The revolving doors whirled, and Jake stumbled into the gym breathing heavily. "Geeze Liam… you're like… a freak… freakin' Suicune." He bent over, resting his hands on his knees. I noted that he was also disheveled, appearing to wear what he'd slept in—black shorts and a sweatshirt that read, _I Got Balls_, with a lovely picture depicting two PokeBalls and a guy's—well, you know.

Dustin looked irritated. "You again?"

Jake grinned, stood up slowly, and ruffled his hair with a hand. "Yup."

Once again, the revolving doors spun. Erin entered and unlike the boys, was fully clothed.

Jake's jaw dropped. "Hey, how—I mean, I'm a faster runner than you. How'd you get here so—"

"Unlike some morons," Erin tilted her head towards Jake. "I actually stopped to pick up my healed Pokemon before going to a _Pokemon gym_." She spun a PokeBall on her finger—a trick she may have picked up from Liam. "And Griffy's much faster than you, Jake."

Jake closed and opened his mouth a few times before turning to face Dustin, looking a bit shame-faced.

"Well, I know Anita Parkwood, Liam Mendol, and Jake Veneer. Who are you?" Dustin asked.

"Erin Kendle."

Dustin nodded. "Never heard of you." He started to stand up, and then did a double take. "Huh, do you work at the Pokemon Center?"

"Um, well." Erin glanced at Liam, Jake, and I. {Shit, shit, shit, I ran into the stinking gym leader yesterday. Aw, shit. Would they cover for me if I said I did?} Erin was projecting her thoughts rather loudly. From Dustin's grin, I had no doubt he was listening as well. Erin spotted Styx. {Hell, I can't say I work there. That's the lady who checked us in yesterday. F—}

"Yes, of course she works there," I snapped, knowing very well that everyone in the room knew she didn't. Whatever.

Dustin laughed. "Well, I haven't had this much entertainment in my gym since Styx and I—"

"Dustin!" Dustin's sister exclaimed. The two Eevee's on the platform put their paws over their faces.

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I'm Dustin Blavoid, gym leader of Artemis Town." He gestured to his left. "But my twin sister, Tali, pretty much runs this place with me."

"Or _for_ you when you and Styx are off—" Tali started.

"And that's my beautiful girlfriend, Styx." Dustin pointed his hand across the room at Styx. Styx gave a little wave. Tali shook her head, smiling, and patted the Eevee beside her fondly. "Liam, you can stop giving me your death-glare because I'm not going to tell your little secret," Dustin said. "In fact, I think it's probably good for you to get out."

{What secret?} Erin and I thought at the same time. So did Dustin know about Mew? Was he somehow involved with Liam? My eyes slid to Styx. It was more likely that he was involved with Styx, and Styx was supposed to be helping me destroy Liam's untransforming device.

_Supposed to_ being the key words there. Styx had made no attempts to destroy the device on Liam's belt yet. Hmm, maybe his lack of pants was a deterrent.

Dustin cleared his throat. "Anita."

My head snapped around. Everyone in the room was watching me. "Huh?"

"You entered the gym first."

"Uh, yeah."

Silence.

"Oh. I'd like to challenge the gym," I said.

"Very well." Dustin nodded at Styx. She walked a few paces away from the door, and began rummaging through a small cabinet I hadn't noticed before. "Who would you like to be your partner?" Dustin asked.

"Erin."

Jake's eyes flashed to me. "What! No, Anita, c'mon."

"Erin, you may leave," Dustin said.

"Wait, I just said I wanted her to be my partner!" Dustin looked amused by my complaint, and Tali was no longer paying attention to us, feeding PokeBlocks to the two Eevees out of the palm of her hand.

"Go on, Erin." Dustin made a shooing motion. Erin hesitated, glancing at me. "Don't worry, you won't miss anything. Anita won't be battling today anyway."

"Sorry, Anita," Erin said. As she walked out the revolving doors, I peeked into her mind. {With the whole caught pretending to be a nurse situation, best not to mess with him any more. Plus, Anita'll be okay battling with Jake… right?}

Liam, Jake, and I stood for a moment. The only sound came from Styx closing the cabinet, apparently having found whatever it was she was looking for. The sound echoed around the gym.

"Anita, I ask again, who would you like to be your partner?"

Okay, this was totally unfair. First off, I didn't want to be stuck with either of them—Liam refused to battle and Jake was a total asshole who'd already lost to this gym leader. Secondly, even if I wanted to partner up with either of them, it was apparent that Dustin wasn't going to let me have a say. I'd end up with whomever he wanted me to partner up with.

"Listen up, Blavoid," Jake said. "I came here to challenge the gym, too, and I want to be partnered up with Anita." It was bold, but mostly stupid of him to speak.

Dustin smiled. "Alright, Anita, your partner will be Liam."

I turned to Liam. He was already heading for the door.

"What, Liam, too scared to battle me?" Dustin called. Liam ignored him, side-stepping Styx when she made to block his path. "I'll tell them," Dustin said, just as Liam reached the door.

There it was again. Well, the threat wouldn't work because I already knew about Mew. Although, Jake didn't…

Liam turned around. Somehow, despite not wearing pants, he managed to look intimidating. "I won't use my Pokemon."

"Styx tells me you've recently acquired a Ditto. That should suffice."

"Can we just hold on a minute?" Jake said, holding his palms out. "What part of I want to partner up with Anita did you miss?"

"Are you the gym leader?" Dustin asked him.

"No."

Dustin turned his attention back to me. "As I told Erin earlier, we will not be battling today." Dustin nodded to Styx. "Tie them up."

Styx took my hand and reached for Liam's. I tugged back, pulling Styx out of reach. "Now, wait a second. What's going on?"

Dustin raised his eyebrows. "Nobody told you about the prelim?" When I didn't answer, he continued, grinning. "The Artemis Town gym promotes teamwork. Thus, for the next twenty-four hours, you will be tied to your partner. You will be forced to work together to get through everyday tasks—"

Jake coughed. I swear I heard him rasp, "Like showering."

Sicko. I threw my backpack at him.

"—and at the end of the twenty-four hours, if you're still tied together, then you've passed." Dustin put both hands on his head and leaned back. "Actually, you'll have to make it through twenty-four hours and then fight me and Tali to pass the prelim. I've gotta make it a little harder for the gifted."

"Hey, they're not more gifted than me," Jake complained. "How come I never had to—"

Dustin raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you seriously going to complain? Because I can make your prelim more difficult—"

Jake shook his head frantically.

"Right, then. Styx." Dustin gestured to us. Styx pulled my arm.

"Wait, fight, as in…?" I punched the air.

"No, fight as in—" Liam swiped a foot into my legs. I fell forward, catching myself with my hands.

I scrambled to my feet. "What the hell, Liam?" Liam glared past my shoulder. I took a step toward him. "Don't take your anger out on me just because your perfectly devised plans aren't working—"

"Right, because this isn't all your fault," Liam said scathingly.

"Why you—"

"Children!" Dustin yelled. Liam and I both turned our glares to him. In any other instance, I might've applauded him for not even flinching. "Please, wait until you're tied together before you start fighting." His gaze fell on me. "If you fail the prelim, you'll fail this gym. Permanently."

"That's not fair! Jake—"

"Both times Jake has challenged the gym, he's passed the prelim," Dustin said, smiling. "He failed the Pokemon battle."

If I didn't feel like there was about a two percent chance of me making it through this prelim, I would've laughed at Jake for failing more than once. As it was, I just gulped.

"Liam and I are untied before we fight you, right?" I asked Dustin.

Dustin actually contemplated that, but it was Tali who nodded. "That would only be fair." Dustin begrudgingly agreed.

As Styx pulled my hand, I thought to her, {You'd better destroy the Forced Transformation Device before I leave here.} Whether she heard me or not, I couldn't say.

I was surprised when Liam willingly held out his hand, allowing Styx to touch our wrists together. Maybe he just wanted to get out of the gym and away from Dustin quickly. As she wrapped the band around our wrists, I realized I wouldn't be able to use my powers for twenty-four hours. Well, that was just dandy.

At least I'd be able to keep Liam away from Apple.

Just as Styx finished tying the final knot, she bumped into Liam, who incidentally knocked into me. I fell, pulling him with me. The next moments seemed to happen in slow motion.

I saw Styx's nimble hand reach for the untransformer as Liam fell toward me. Liam, always acutely aware of his surroundings, elbowed her hand out of the way, and carefully watched Styx as she managed to turn the movement into a clumsy stumble.

Great, just what I needed—Liam suspecting another person who might've been able to help me. My back hit the cold tile floor. Liam nearly landed on top of me, barely managing to catch himself with his hands on either side of my head. I winced, my right hand trapped beneath his left because the elastic band bound them together.

For less than a moment I looked up at Liam's face. His eyes were wide, startled even, and his breath cool like a spring breeze. Wisps of black hair fell forward, tickling my forehead.

In that miniscule millisecond, my stomach clenched and knees quivered.

By Liam's feet, Styx regained her balance, but knocked into Liam to steady herself. I closed my eyes at the jolt.

Liam's lips brushed my nose, light and feathery.

And then I was being pulled up. I felt my face flush, but no one seemed to notice. Jake was giving a dramatic speech to Tali, attempting to persuade her that it was too dangerous to let me and Liam be partners, that she and Dustin were clearly violating the gym leader council's gym safety regulations. From Tali's squinted eyes and doubtful expression, I doubted she'd be swayed.

Liam was once again making dagger-eyes at Dustin, perhaps purposefully avoiding my gaze. I caught Styx's eye as she brushed off her white skirt, regaining composure, and I chose to give her an unsubtle you-screwed-up-bad look. She shrugged and mouthed something.

{What?} I thought, knowing she couldn't hear me.

She must have understood my expression because she mouthed more slowly, "Venture west." Whatever that meant. She waved frantically at herself, and then at me, stopping abruptly when Dustin gave her an odd look.

Liam nodded to Dustin. As Liam tugged me towards the revolving doors and it was clear Styx wasn't going to make another attempt at the Forced Transformation Device, I mouthed, "You suck" at her.

Styx watched us leave, her dark eyes wide, trying to give me a hint I could no longer receive telepathically.

Liam was smirking slightly when we pushed through the revolving doors. That couldn't be good.

I squinted when we got outside, the combination of the bright light and change in air pressure making my head hurt. "Let's go find a pair of scissors," Liam said, dragging me towards the nearest store.

"What? Wait, already?" I tugged back. He stopped walking. "It's been about thirty seconds. I don't like this, but I've got to beat the gym."

Liam shrugged. "Not my problem."

"Please?"

"Persuade me." Liam raised his eyebrows, his green eyes glinting. "Otherwise…" He made a scissor motion with his fingers.

I knew what he was getting at. "I'm not telling you anything about Mew."

Liam turned back toward the store. "A pity."

"I'm serious, Liam. That info's not worth the price of gym badge." Liam pulled me and I followed, not wanting the band to snap. "You might be the nastiest, most uncaring—"

"You've still got about thirty seconds to persuade me. Sixty, depending on how long it takes the clerk to find a pair of scissors." We reached the store door.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying not to let my voice sound desperate. Liam gave me a look.

I thought back to earlier. "A kiss?"

That disturbed Liam enough for him to pull away from the door and put as much space between him and me as he could. "Ew, no." He gave me a where-the-hell-did-_that_-come from-look.

"What do you want?" I repeated.

Liam unsubtly brushed over the Forced Transformation Device with his free, right hand.

I stared at his hand of a second. "Oh. _Oh._" Well, he was going to test them at some point anyway. I'd be putting a lot of faith in Styx by doing this—in her "Venture west" plan and in her ability to keep Liam thinking Apple was still hurt. Could Styx and I break the Forced Transformation Device before Liam could use it on Apple? "Fine," I said.

"Alright, let out your Pokemon," Liam said.

"I'm not stupid. As soon as you use that untransformy thing, I know you're going to cut the band." I held up our bound wrists. "Plus, I don't have all my Pokemon. The nurse told me this morning that Apple needed to rest another day, and I left Fiery with her for company." I said it as if I believed it, I couldn't afford Liam to see through the white lie.

Liam nodded. "Fine. This evening, I get to test the Pokemon you currently have. Tomorrow, after we get this band off, I get to test Apple and Fiery."

Was that enough time?

"Deal."

We shook our already joined hands.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Your little secret," I muttered, repeating the words Dustin had spoken to Liam. I meant to find out Liam's little secret.

{Secrets, secrets are no fun unless you share the applesauce!} Griffy's tail yelled. I sighed, returning Griffy to his PokeBall.

I stood in front of Artemis Town's quaint library. For such a large town, the library was tiny—a small brick building squished between a grocery store and a funny smelling store that sold antiques. I pushed through the glass front doors.

If Dustin knew something about the secret, then the first place to start looking for clues was the gym leader database, a book every library should have. I nodded to the old librarian at the front desk and wandered into an aisle that looked like it might fall apart the moment I took a book off of the shelf. I spotted the Pokemon Trainer section in the far back, denoted by a putrid green sign.

There was a girl with pigtails leaning back in a chair, her feet up on a small wood table as she paged through a book. She had a red bag swung over her shoulder and was chewing gum loudly. As I walked past her to the bookshelf, she glared up at me as if my presence personally offended her.

I quickly located the spot on the shelf where the database should've been. The spot was empty.

As I turned to return to the front desk and ask the librarian for help, I glimpsed the cover of the book the pigtail girl was reading. The 2013 Gym Leader Database. Of course.

"Excuse me, can I see that book when you're done?"

"Not going to be done for a while," the girl said between bubble gum pops.

"Can I take a look at it now then? It'll only be a minute."

"You a trainer?" the girl asked.

I shrugged, not particularly wanting to explain.

"I've got six badges," the girl said, "and I'm not going up against Tamara 'till I find a decent dark Pokemon, but I've got a kickass fighting team ready to rock. The dark gym leader, however… you heard about him?"

"No."

"Well his freakin' prelim is to find him."

"Abalina's was like that, with her gym under ground—" I started.

"Not like this," the girl said, whipping her pigtails back and forth. "Nobody knows what his face looks like, and he could be anywhere, and I mean anywhere. In Sinnoh for all anyone knows. No trainer's seen him since he left the gym. I heard a rumor that the dark gym leader was friendly with the normal gym leader so I came here—I mean, I figure the gym leaders aren't freakin' out over where the guy is so they must know or at least have contact with him. And if the dark gym leader's havin' contact with any of them, it's the normal guy, right?"

I didn't particularly care about this missing dark gym leader; I just wanted to take a look at that book. I hid my annoyance and nodded.

"But I haven't seen nothin' and I've been watching this normal guy for two weeks already. Believe me, I know all about him and his freaky girlfriend—"

A thought dawned on me, so obvious I might've smacked my head against the table if I wasn't worried about what this girl might do to me if I passed out in front of her. "You said the dark gym leader's been missing?"

The girl scowled at me. "That's what I've been complainin' bout. You even listening?"

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long has he been gone from his gym? How long has that prelim been going on?"

The girl shrugged. "A month maybe?"

Dustin knew Liam. Liam was darkly gifted.

The dark gym leader of Acceber has been missing for a month. We met Liam a month ago.

Two plus two, does in fact equal four

Duh.

"What's the dark gym leader's name?" I asked.

"Somethin' common." The girl leafed through the book. "Ah, there we go." She held the book up, and turned it so the pages faced me. She placed her finger under a name. "Just says the last name for some reason. Mendol."

Well, that was that. I knew his secret.

Liam was undoubtedly the dark gym leader of Acceber.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

Venturing west didn't work out well.

It took me ten minutes to figure out which way was west. By that time, the streets were crowded with people trying to get to their Monday morning work. Liam and I were jostled about—businessmen elbowing us out of their paths and street vendors forcing their products in front of us. Seeing the band attaching our wrists, we got several offers for fakes to be put on later.

Though the offers were tempting, I suspected Dustin would have a way of knowing if the band was cut and replaced.

And I had yet to find exactly what Styx was referring to.

"You're sure Erin said she'd meet us here," Liam said doubtfully, nudging a Zigzagoon he would've otherwise tripped on out of the way with his foot.

"That's what she said." Not. I looked away from a man in a top hat shoving a hotdog beneath my nose. Artemis Town was beginning to seem like one giant market—if you walked down the middle of a street, there were so many market stands you couldn't see the office buildings on either side of the road. Between a woman wearing a giant hat and a man dressed as a Pikachu, I spotted green.

"We're not going to find her in this crowd. Call her," Liam said.

"Wait." I headed in the direction I'd glimpsed green. We came upon a giant park. There was a group of kids playing with a Frisbee and two trainers battling, but it was certainly less crowded than the street. I felt like I could breath again.

Liam was already dialing Erin's number on his PokeTech. I looked around frantically. What was Styx talking about? I was pretty screwed when Erin answered her phone.

Liam frowned. "No one's answering."

Maybe Styx would show up or something, but I wasn't going to wait around helplessly. I cursed silently, wishing I'd broken the untransformer earlier this morning when Liam was asleep. He'd have known one of my Pokemon was Mew, but he wouldn't have had a way of proving it. Now, if I didn't find a way of breaking the Forced Transformation Device, Apple was in very deep doo-doo.

Alright, attempt number one: smash it in close combat.

I swung my unbound fist at Liam's belt, where the untransformer was. Of course, Liam blocked it with his arm. Neither of us moved. "This could get very dangerous for you, very fast," Liam said.

I yawned widely, watching him through the narrow slit of my eyelids. "Chill. I just want to practice while we wait for Erin. I want to be ready for tomorrow, and _someone_ slept in for my morning practice."

I kicked my right leg at the back of Liam's knees. Without room to maneuver, Liam took the hit and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, because we were tied together, I was yanked down towards him.

Liam caught himself with his free hand, swinging our bound hands over his body. His legs caught under mine, and I fell face forward into the grass. By the time I hit the ground, Liam was sitting up beside me, holding both of my arms behind my back. I winced.

"Fighting in this state," Liam said, jiggling our tied wrists. I could feel his racing pulse slow, "will not help you prepare for tomorrow's gym battle and will likely result in your injury."

The grass tickled my nose. In my peripheral vision, I could see the untransformer peeking out of the pouch on Liam's belt, gleaming in the sunlight as if to mock me. Mission smash untransformer with my fist: fail. "Fine. Let me up," I said, my voice muffled by the grass.

Liam released my arms. I pushed up on the ground, awkwardly tucked my legs beneath me, and scooted on the grass until I sat facing Liam. Behind Liam, people were still bustling about on the streets. Our scuffle had attracted a little attention, but now that we weren't fighting, people continued on their way quickly, not even glancing at us.

Liam watched me speculatively, his head cocked to the side. "If you want to prepare for tomorrow, it would be more beneficial to discuss strategy."

My nose tickled and I thought I might sneeze. Wow, he was absolutely right. Well, right as long as I broke that untransformer and didn't have to run for my life and Apple's tomorrow. I forced my eyes to stay on his face and not dart to the untransformer. "Okay. What do you know of Dustin and Tali's powers? How do you know Dustin anyway?"

"How I know them is not your—"

I held up our tied wrists. We were tied together—how could this _not_ be my business?

"—business," Liam finished. I didn't press him; there were more important matters to worry about at the moment. He continued, "Dustin can mimic any gift—"

"Does that include your fighting ability?" I asked.

Liam looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Will you let me finish a sentence? My ability to do this—" Liam shoved my shoulder with his tied hand, pushing me on my side, my left shoulder digging into the dirt.

"And you just love showing it off," I muttered.

"-was hard earned through years of training. Dustin can't mimic it; it's not part of my gift." Liam let me up. I rolled my shoulder, more to annoy Liam than out of actual soreness. "Dustin's twin, Tali, has control over sound."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"You've never been yelled at by her." Liam sighed and looked overhead. "So what do you know about strategy? Have you ever played strategy games?"

"What, like chess? I guess I strategize in Pokemon battles. When I battled Sparky—"

"Let's use chess as an example. How do you strategize in chess?"

I think the last time I played chess was in third grade, when I had a crush on a freckled boy in the chess club. When he beat me in a chess game, my heart was crushed and I found I no longer had any positive feelings for the kid. "Well, I guess I set up that knight-pawn wall around my king, and then I try to knock out as many of my opponent's pieces as I can—"

"So you lose sight of your goal, and then proceed to lose the game."

"Hey—"

"Strategy is accurately predicting your opponent's moves and using these predictions to defeat your opponent." Liam's lips quirked. "For instance, if I flicked your nose right now, you'd be goaded into grabbing at my hand. Because I know how you'll react, I'd be able to intercept your hand, forcing you to be still."

"And I'd spit in your face."

"Then I'd push you back to the ground painfully—" Liam started.

"Once again illustrating the perverse enjoyment you get from seeing others suffer."

"That's not true."

I smiled, daring him to try me. "Let's just be glad you didn't flick my nose."

Liam's face was calm and stoic, but his eyes bore into mine, green as the grass field around us. "Strategy," Liam said, finally. "Dustin's powers are the most unpredictable, but he can only mimic one gift at a time."

"Right. So he can either be a psychic, or he can have your oh-so-special dark gift."

"Or he can copy Tali's ability to manipulate sound," Liam said. "The least threatening of these three abilities is mine—my gift is really only useful in the dark or when fighting a psychic." He nodded at me. "So we can force Dustin—"

"We can force him to copy your dark gift if I bombard him psychically." I plucked at the grass by my feet, shredding the blades into ant-size pieces. I wished I could practice psychically moving the grass bits like I had the glass shards yesterday with Apple. "And then you can take Dustin out with your _hard-earned_ fighting skills."

I peeked up at Liam. He nodded. I guess it was a good strategy.

"You know, we have another advantage," I said. Liam watched me expectantly. I tapped my head. "If you open up your mind for the battle, we can communicate telepathically—"

"No," Liam said harshly.

"Okay, okay. It was just a thought." The Frisbee the group of kids had been playing with flew over my head, a thrown gone astray. Liam caught the Frisbee and tossed it back without getting up. "What about Tali?"

"Earplugs."

I smiled. "Or those noise canceling headphones that are always in the commercials." As I glanced down to pluck more grass, I noticed Liam's bare feet and legs. He was still just wearing his boxers and a t-shirt. I'd forgotten. "Err, maybe we should also buy you some pants and shoes." I paused. "I could call my mom and ask her to loan me some money. I still owe you shrinkers…"

Liam got to his feet and offered me his hand. Err, his free hand. "Earplugs and pants first."

I stared at his hand for just a moment before taking it and letting him help me up. "Earplugs and pants," I agreed.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Mel, why don't you let Sparkles take you to the playground?" Sparky said. "It'll be good for you to get to know other kids your age."

I sat on the cushy couch in the TV room. Sparky's house was big and confusing, which was cool because I could just float through the walls. My favorite room was the attic upstairs that was sealed in—only me and ghost Pokemon could get to it. The TV room was my second favorite because the couch was so cushy I sometimes got stuck between cushions and had to go intangible to get out.

Scary floated invisible near the doorway. We were playing _I Spy the Ghost_, even though I was getting too old for the game. I always found Scary now. "I don't want to," I told Sparky. I wondered if I should call him father. I didn't really think of him like that—Scary would always be my parent. "Can we practice with Rotom?"

Sparky shook his head. "Gym battles today. I'm already going in late." Sparky smiled. "'Course, the challengers are probably trapped in our booby traps, right?"

"Yup," I said. Hehe, Scary was making faces behind Sparky. "Can I watch the battles?"

"Sure. I'm leaving in fifteen." He walked right through Scary when he left the room. Sometimes Sparky could sense Scary and me when we were invisible. Sparky said we were charged weird. Scary and I had been working on being invisible even to Sparky's senses—pranking Sparky would be the most ultimate prank ever. So far Scary and I were only sometimes successful. Scary thought we weren't sensed when we stayed still, but I was pretty sure it was only when Sparky wasn't focusing on sensing a ghost, like Anita not being able to read minds unless she was trying to.

I turned intangible and floated through the walls to Sparky's office, where I knew he was going. Since yesterday, I had a new reason to be invisible to Sparky. Now that he knew who used to be my father, I had to make sure Sparky didn't try to give me back. Seth Robert Hastings was _not_ my father any more. He'd had his chance. He left.

Sparky was computer chatting with a woman who reminded me of Anita. She had purple eyes with little wrinkles in the corners. She looked tired.

"Sparky, I don't have time for this." The woman rubbed her temples. "Aden, Nai, and I are up to our ears in Team Glop'emm—"

"I thought we got the leader, Tamara. The Arkle guy."

"We did. He's who's giving me this blasted headache—literally. I can't get into his brain. Remember those Team Glop'emm members we caught on the boat, the ones using ghosts? They confessed Arkle was behind the orders. However, it seems their _Master_'s been keeping a few more ghost tricks up his sleeve—there's a ghost Pokemon in his body, blocking me from reading him—either a Sableye or Spiritomb—" Tamara stopped speaking suddenly, looking as if she wanted to say more.

I squinted at her.

{There's a ghost within her,} Scary said, appearing beside me.

How'd he know that?

{Look, she moves her mouth, but no words come out. Also, her eyes are dimmer, like Anita's were when you took over her body.}

Weird.

Tamara took a deep breath. "We've had to resort to messier means of gaining information. Thus, Nai and Aden."

Sparky seemed to think Tamara was shaken over what she was talking about, not the ghost inside of her. He murmured something about "fire and ice torture" to himself and then smiled super big at Tamara. "Let's hope he can't pull off the most renowned ghost trick—disappear." He laughed at his own joke. Tamara didn't. I didn't get it, but I would've laughed to make Sparky happy. "Alright, sorry. Why don't you try using a ghost Pokemon to kick the other ghost out?"

"And which of us has a ghost Pokemon with that kind of power?" _Me!_ I wanted to shout. Scary gave me a look like a silent shush.

Sparky didn't answer.

"None of us, aside from Mendol, even have a well-trained ghost Pokemon." Tamara raised her eyebrows, looking grave. "Unless…"

"Mel is eight years old and will have nothing to do with this," Sparky snapped. What was wrong with Sparky? I could so do it. I'd battled ghosts for bodies before, including my own! I could get rid of the ghost in the man they were talking about and maybe in Tamara, too.

{He just wants you to be safe,} Scary said gently. {And so do I.}

It wasn't fair—everyone I knew got to battle and fight bad guys. Why couldn't I?

Tamara closed her eyes and said, "I have work to do. What did you want?"

"It's about the man that was arrested the same day as Arkle, the one suspected of holding our dear Mendol hostage. Professor Seth Robert Hastings." My heart sunk. I felt my eyes getting watery even though I knew I should be able to stop myself from crying. I was old enough now. But Sparky was going to send me back to him. Sparky was going to abandon me just like _he_ did. "Mel, my foster son, is Hasting's biological son according to Professor Blubber."

"Nai accused Hastings of child abuse," Tamara said softly.

"I know. I haven't talked to Mel about it. I don't know if I will."

"The information he has could be useful."

Sparky's eyes flashed a cold, stormy grey. "He's not a tool—first battling Arkle's ghost and now this? What's gotten into you, Tamara?"

Tamara's eyes looked sad and distant, but she said nothing.

"It was Professor Blubber who recognized Mel; he was acquainted with Professor Hastings. He also said that when his past assistant, Erin Kendle, had returned accompanying Mel, she had spoken of finding him in an abandoned mansion a few miles from Cape Caution. I don't know what kind of convictions we want to start drawing up against this Seth Hastings, but I figured it would be beneficial for someone to check out the mansion and pick Professor Blubber's mind..."

{Sparky's not leaving you,} Scary said as the conversation continued. {He won't. He _chose _you.} Scary put a hand through my heart. I smiled at him.

{Thanks, Scary.} I thought about how strange it was that I could see Sparky, and that he couldn't see me or Scary, and that I could see Scary if he wanted me to, and if Sparky really wanted to he could see us too, and my father hadn't been able to see me… {Scary, they said they're going to search our home.}

Scary nodded. I floated through the ceiling, upwards into my secret attic. Scary followed. It smelled a little like old socks, but I liked the texture of the wood floor. {Did my father… Did he love me?} I asked Scary.

Scary nodded again, his pointed ears bobbing.

{Because Tamara said abuse… and that's when someone does very bad things to someone else.} I made myself solid and leaned against the wooden wall. I couldn't see well now that I was solid—I could only make out an outline of Scary with the few bits of sunlight coming in through cracks between the wall planks. {Did father abuse me?}

{He left you.}

{And that's abuse?}

Scary shrugged. He didn't know. I didn't know either. {He's not my father,} I said. {But when he was, he liked his books, remember?}

Scary looked at me with his serious face. {He told me to guard them with my life once. He said the only thing more precious than them was you.}

{I never read his books. You taught me to read after he was gone.} I thought about making a hole in one of the planks so more sunlight came in. I decided it wasn't worth Sparky maybe finding out. {If they search the house, they'll find the books.}

I think Scary knew the direction my head was going now. He was good like that. My true parent.

{_He's _not my father any more, but I want to get the books before they do.}

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

We had a successful morning shopping among the colorful stores of Artemis Town. When I'd called my mother, she wasn't happy that the first call from me she'd received in weeks entailed me asking for money, but by the end of our lengthy conversation, she agreed to give me money, though warned me it would be the last time. She'd ranted for quite a while about my father, his lack of money as a trainer, and how though I was going through a "stage" in my life, she trusted I wouldn't be a trainer for the rest of my life.

I loved my mother, but there were reasons I didn't call often.

I didn't tell her about my psychic gift. I'd read in Tamara Lilac's book,The Gift, that the gift was genetic. I wondered if my mom had passed those genes to me, or if it was my father who I hadn't seen in years.

After getting Liam his necessities, I picked a quaint café to eat lunch at. It was called _The Blue Swellow_ and smelled like coffee and cookies. The walls were blue, composed of small glittery tiles. It was here, after a filling meal, that Liam and I encountered our first awkward difficulty in being tied together.

"I have to pee," I said.

"That stinks," Liam said, shrugging.

"No seriously, I'm not going to hold this for another twenty hours." I got up and headed for the bathroom at the back of the restaurant. Liam, of course, was dragged along. A "W" on a wooden door indicated the woman's bathroom. When I opened the door, I realized it was a single room-single toilet bathroom. "Alright, stay here and don't let anyone come in."

Liam rolled his eyes. "How do you expect—"

I closed the door on his arm. Liam glared at me through the door crack.

"No peeking!"

Liam turned his head, muttering something under his breath. The bathroom was small with crinkled wallpaper and a rusted sink. There was a faded advertisement on the wall for some roller coaster called, "Adventure Quest." At least it smelled like soap. I backed up, trying to reach the toilet. I pulled Liam's arm—just a little more…

"I thought you didn't want me in the bathroom while you did your business," Liam complained. His shoulder was nearly sliding through the door crack. "I'm getting weird looks. This is ridiculous."

My rear end barely grazed the toilet seat. Just as I was clumsily trying to unzip my pants one handedly, a waitress walked past the doorway, curiously peering over Liam's head. We made eye contact. Very awkward.

"Fine, get in the bathroom," I hissed, rezipping my pants while Liam slipped through the doorway, careful not to look at me. He locked the door and faced the wall with the roller coaster poster.

I managed to unzip my pants and get on with my business. Maybe in an attempt to pretend he wasn't locked in the bathroom with a peeing girl, Liam started reading the advertisement on the wall out loud mockingly. "Adventure Quest: the thrill you need. Adventure Quest: learn about magnetism! Adventure Quest: Artemis Town's biggest roller coaster." Liam snorted. "Like Artemis Town has more than one."

Something in my mind clicked.

Adventure Quest. Venture West.

Geeze, I stunk at reading lips.

I zipped up my pants and made for the sink. "So Liam, do you like roller coasters?"

/ / / / / / / / / /

"Not that I care, but won't Erin be looking for us at the park?" Liam asked, grimacing at the sun. It turns out "Adventure Quest" was a roller coaster that wrapped around a building owned by an investing company called _Invest-A-Quest_. You'd think that because the company owned the building, the line for the roller coaster would be inside. You'd have thought wrong.

The line spiraled along the outside of the building, and Liam and I were unlucky enough to currently be standing in the part of the line the _Invest-A-Quest _building did not shade. The sun was sweltering. Not only could I feel my sweat trickling down my body, but I could feel Liam's on my wrist. The elastic band was not helping.

Worst of all, there was still no sign of Styx. I had no idea why she wanted me to come here. "Erin's still not answering her phone," I lied. I'd pretended to call her several times via PokeTech, not wanting to risk Liam actually getting in contact with her. I had to get this Forced Transformation Device thing sorted out first.

I eyed the black pouch that held the device. Liam wore the belt it was hooked onto loosely around his new cargo pants. Luckily, Liam was the complete opposite of Erin when it came to shopping—he went directly for what he needed, bypassing all the clothes salespeople tried to throw at him. I wondered if Erin'd be mad she'd missed the opportunity to force Liam into skinny jeans. That last night in Vintage Village, she and Lily had giggled about it behind Liam's back, when they thought he wasn't listening. I let my smile fade. That was before I knew about the Forced Transformation Device.

Maybe Styx thought with all the twists and curves on the roller coaster, I could _accidently_ smash into Liam, crushing the untransfomer. I guess that was worth a shot.

The line moved. We passed several signs depicting how magnets powered the roller coaster, but didn't make it around the corner into the shade. Liam wiped his face with his t-shirt sleeve. "This better be worth our money," he mumbled.

I was surprised Liam had readily agreed to go on the roller coaster. No complaints, no suspicions, no questions.

"Have you been to _Olivine Sea_?" I asked. That was the amusement park my parents had taken me to once a year when we lived in Goldenrod. Even when we moved to Acceber, my mom still took me every few years.

"The beach?" Liam replied.

"It's an amusement park. Why'd you agree to go on this? Have you ever even ridden a roller coaster?" _Olivine Sea_ was the only amusement park I'd ever heard of.

Liam shrugged. "I like roller coasters. There was an indoor park just outside of Mauville. Lots of electric Pokemon to run the place." Liam paused. "My parents used to bring me and my cousin. Once my cousin bought us both a pair of platform shoes so we could get on all the rides with a height requirement. He loved roller coasters."

I wanted to squeal and exclaim, "Aha! You shared personal information with me and the world was not minced to pieces by the information-sharing devil. Would ya look at that!" However, I didn't think that would encourage Liam to continue sharing memories. In fact, he'd probably never speak to me again. Instead, pretending we were two people engaged in normal conversation, I said, "You grew up in Hoenn?"

Liam nodded, looking out in the direction of the sea.

"Do you still keep in touch with your cousin?" I asked.

"He's dead."

"Oh. Sorry." The line moved again. We finally reached the shade. Now we were in the spiral right up against the building, almost to the front of the line. I wiggled my wrist tied to Liam's a bit, trying relieve it from the itchy sweat. It didn't help much. "How'd he die?"

I wanted to take the words back as soon as they left my mouth. Curiosity killed the cat. Or this conversation. Seriously, what was wrong with me? That was personal _and_ rude. No way would Liam—

"He was swept away by the Slateport tsunami," Liam said bitterly.

The tsunami might be my first memory. It had happened on my third birthday. At the time, I didn't understand why many of my friends and my parents had left the party early. I'd cried for hours. Only when I was older did I comprehend the effects of the tragedy. Everyone seemed to know someone who didn't make it through the disaster. In history class, we'd learned it was caused by Kyogre, the legendary Pokemon of the seas.

Legendary Pokemon… Oh.

"You don't like legendary Pokemon much," I commented.

Liam froze for a moment. Then he closed his eyes, leaned against the brick building, and bent his head back.

"So that's why you're after Mew."

"Why don't you say that a little louder," Liam said, not meeting my eye.

"Nobody cares if—"

"Anita, just stop talking." Liam was… upset? I should probably be feeling bad, but I didn't know what I did. And Liam was… Well, he didn't exactly _look_ upset, more like defeated, but he didn't usually look much of anything.

Bewildered would probably be the best word to describe my feelings this moment. So of course, I said, "If Kyogre killed your cousin, why aren't you chasing that legendary Pokemon?"

"It's complicated."

"Try me." The line moved again, and I pulled Liam away from the wall. We finally reached the metal gates opening to new riders. There was a slot in the middle that was empty, and we took it.

Liam spoke quietly and precisely. "Kyogre's tsunami also drowned my mom and my aunt. My dad and I moved to Acceber to get away—it was the only known region without a legendary Pokemon. My dad despised legendary Pokemon, maybe more than I did… than I do. Then we arrived in Vintage Village, trying to get on with our lives, and boom—Mew's explosion, houses on fire, several dead including Lily's parents."

"But Kyogre—"

"Don't you get it? Nobody's safe from _any_ legendary Pokemon. And in Acceber, I have an—" Liam stopped talking suddenly.

"You have a what?"

Liam looked at me hard for a moment. "Is there someone in your life that you'd do anything for? Run into a fire, dig through corpses, take a bullet…"

I thought about Apple, grinning her sharp canines at me from my shoulder, her tail brushing against my neck. I nodded.

"That's what my cousin was to me. Nobody should have to deal with the pain of losing someone like that."

I still didn't quite get why he was chasing down Mew instead of Kyogre, but I wasn't going to keep pushing the subject. A roller coaster pulled into the station, and after the previous riders exited, the metal gates swung open. Liam climbed into the cart first, and I awkwardly climbed in after him, unbalanced because of my tied hand. The roller coaster didn't go upside down so our seats were really just one big seat with a buckling safety belt and a neon yellow safety bar. We buckled up, and Liam pulled down the yellow bar.

"What are you going to do when you…" I couldn't think of the right word because I didn't really know _how_ Liam planned on accomplishing what he wanted to accomplish. "Get Mew?"

Liam just stared at me.

Guess we both knew the answer to that.

"Mew can't be killed, you know," I said. An operator droned on about keeping our hands and legs inside the vehicle.

Liam gave me a sidelong glance, tilting his head in acknowledgement.

The roller coaster began.

The ride was a little bumpy, but definitely worth the five dollars we paid. The wind against my face was a relief after standing in line, and the small hills made my stomach flip wondrously, leaving my conversation with Liam momentarily forgotten in the station. Neither Liam nor I were screamers, but I let out a few squeals and I caught Liam smiling at an unexpected twist.

Of course, I did my best to ram into Liam at every turn the centripetal acceleration pulled me that way. His arm was hot and his shirt damp. I crinkled my nose at the smell of Liam's sweat.

Unfortunately, my poor attempts to smash the untransformer were futile. At least they went unnoticed.

When we exited the ride, there was _still_ no sign of Styx. Maybe I'd totally misread her lips? I really should go back to the Pokemon Center to look for her, but I didn't want Liam anywhere within an a hundred yard radius of Apple, anywhere he might think to test her with that device.

The roller coaster exited to a higher level of the _Invest-A-Quest _building, and the exit led directly into the building, requiring riders to walk through the building to get back to street level. We passed several investing advertisements, more signs bragging about _Adventure Quest_'s amazing magnetic feat, and a huge electric generator on our way down the staircase to the lobby.

When we reached for the street, Liam looked at his PokeTech. "We should find Erin and get dinner soon." He turned to me. "But first I'd like to test your Pokemon, please."

Well, at least he was polite.

"Fine." As I released my Pokemon in front of a roller-coaster-magnetism's-awesome-please-ride-_Adventure Quest_ poster, a thought came to me. The signs, the giant generator, the Forced Transformation Device…

I glanced at Splash, remembering our training earlier this morning.

I knew what Styx had been planning, or at least, I thought I somewhat knew. I didn't know enough about magnetism to know how to make it seriously mess up a circuit. However, I did know that if you put enough electricity through any circuit…

Liam bent over Splash, lowering syringe to his spiky fur.

_BZZZZZZZZZZZT_

…stuff will get seriously fried.

Of course, I'd forgotten I'd get electrocuted along with Liam and the untransformer. Though slightly dizzy, I smiled at a blurry Splash, so thankful he couldn't control the electricity running through his body. I'd tell him psychically if it weren't for this blasted band binding me to Liam. Ah, and the best part was I didn't have to do anything—this looked like a total accident.

As my vision came to, I saw Liam's outstretched right arm holding the syringe. It was smoking slightly, and the air smelled like something burning—

Liam turned toward me slowly, his eyes glinting like newly sharpened skewers. "You planned this." His voice was deadly.

"N-no, it was an accident." I moved backwards, stumbling. At another time I might've laughed at an attempt to get away from someone I was tied to.

Liam was reaching for my neck. He was going to strangle me—I saw it in his eyes, in his face—I could only think of getting away—but we were tied together—something to slice the band away, anything—if I could use my powers, get up high maybe—

There was a flash of light.

An Eevee flipped through the air, neatly striking Liam on the head with its lit tail. My arm was tugged toward the ground.

I blinked.

Allo stood in front of me, crouched with his lit tail ready to strike again. Splash, Vanilla, and Sunflower watched behind him in awe. Liam was slumped on the concrete sidewalk, pulling my arm forward. We were getting some funny looks.

"Where'd you learn that trick?" I asked.

Tied to Liam, I couldn't hear his answer. Honestly, I wasn't too worried about it at the moment.

I bent over. "Liam?"

No answer.

He was knocked out cold.

I was tied to Liam Mendol. Liam Mendol was unconscious. The Forced Transformation Device was destroyed.

I'd take it.


	42. Lost Revelations

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Yes, I stink. Been just about two months. Last month I had to write a story for my creative writing minor so that sucked up most of my writing time, BUT to make it up to you guys I promise to post another chapter next week after my finals (it's already written so it'll definitely be put up).

Anyway, happy finals week and good luck on all of those tests, obnoxious take-home exams, papers, projects, or whatever form of torture your professors/teachers have come up with.

OBR- Thanks! Internet phone, cool. I would buy one if I thought I'd be able to competently use one... I can barely manage my flip phone.

ChaosAngel4us - :) I have plans for Styx. Soon...

Glaceon34- Glad to have a new reviewer! Yeah, 1st chapters aren't very good, but I was four years younger. I'd go back and fix them, but I'd rather just keep writing forward.

Thank you guys for reviewing! Thank you to everyone who's reading and sticking with this! I know I'm slow, but I PROMISE this story will have an ending (not for a while, though... miles to go, right?). Next chapter in a week!

_Previously on An Apple a Day:_

Anita challenges the Artemis Town gym. The prelim is staying tied hand-to-hand to someone for a day. Unfortunately for Anita, that someone happens to be Liam.

Dustin lets slip that Liam has a secret and Erin discovers he's the gym leader of Drape Town.

Mel listens in on Sparky's meeting with the other gym leaders. Tamara's having trouble questioning Jamie Arkle and suspects he has a ghost Pokemon within his body. Mel and Scary discover that Tamara has a ghost within her body (the Master's (Liam's) Spiritomb, left within her to keep her from projecting an image of Liam into others, which we learned a few chapters back). The gym leaders also discuss searching Professor Hastings's house for clues as to whether he is withholding information about Liam Mendol. Professor Hastings is Mel's biological father, and Mel decides to get Professor Hastings's books before the gym leaders do.

Meanwhile, Styx promised Anita she would destroy Liam's Forced Transformation Device (FTD). When Anita can't find her, Anita thinks she'll be forced to take matters into her own hands. Fortunately, her Jolteon, Splash, has major problems controlling his electric powers. When Liam touches the FTD to Splash's fur, Splash's electricity destroys the FTD's circuitry. Liam is furious and attacks Anita. Allo, one of Anita's Eevee's, steps in to protect Anita- he hits Liam over the head with an Iron Tail attack.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 39: Lost Revelations

_My Lost Boy_

_In the forest my boy was born_

_Amidst a people bent and sworn—_

_So malleably bent!_

_Deal a fae's resent,_

_Skew through her rival the deadliest thorn._

_Who were we to doubt her regime?_

_Mere man, woman, and boy unseen,_

_His hand in mine,_

_Tugged through time._

_History but a haunting dream._

I turned the page. The next page was blank. That was the last poem in Seth Hasting's book—

"WHAT THE F—" _BEEEP. _An angry man in a frilly, white apron shouted at me, waving a bouquet of flowers at me accusingly. Whatever he was yelling was drowned out by a car trying to plow its way through the hoard of people crowding the narrow streets of Artemis Town. "—KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF THAT DAMN BOOK WHILE YOU'RE WALKING!"

I looked down. I'd squashed a small flower garden with my heels.

The angry flower shop owner was trying to push past a cluster of customers to get to me.

I, the brave, courageous Erin Kendle—unafraid of taunting Liam, picking a fight with Jake, or scolding Anita—released Griffy from his PokeBall and fled clutching the book tightly to my chest.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I forgot how much I missed the dusty floorboards, the Spinarak webs that hung from the ceiling, the little caterpillars that lived above the fridge, my collection of broken PokeBalls—my mansion. It still smelled dusty boots, still smelled like home.

I floated through my favorite wooden wall into the library. It was my favorite wall in the house because once every few months, when the dust got thick enough, Scary and I used to draw pictures in the dust all over the wall.

{The Oddish have infested the garden since we left,} Scary said, appearing through the bookshelf opposite me.

I shrugged. Scary cared about growing food in the garden. I thought it was easier to just go to the grocery store.

Scary floated up to the top of the tallest bookshelf and pulled out two tall, thin books. I remember my father used to drag ladders from the shed out back into the library to reach those two books sometimes. He wouldn't put the ladders back until he was done reading the books and they were returned to the top shelf.

{Ready to go back?} Scary asked, waving the books at me. The books' covers were falling apart like a crumble cake. Bits of peeled cardboard curled up around the edges and fell off as Scary waved the books.

I looked at the plush couches and floated down to the one that was peach colored. This was where I'd first met Liam and Erin and Anita. I missed them. Becoming solid, I sank into the couch.

{Sparky will notice you're missing,} Scary said. {Plus, the gym leaders are sending someone to come look at the house, probably some time today.}

{Can we stay for a while?} I patted the couch beside me. {Come sit! We can read together.}

{Mel…}

{I miss it here. Sparky won't mind being gone for a few minutes.}

Scary's eyes glowed red for a moment, and I almost got mad at him for trying to hypnotize me, but then he floated down next to me, dropping the books in my lap. {A few minutes,} he said.

My dad's books didn't even look like books—more like diaries, which was silly because everyone knows only girls wrote diaries. One was the color of Scary in those super bright lights and the other was a shade like the inside of a cucumber.

{Scary, why did Dad leave?}

{You tell me.}

{Because he was scared he couldn't see me. Because he couldn't see me.}

{He didn't know you were alive,} Scary said.

I looked at the books again. The cucumber book was dated 2005. I was born in 2005. The other book didn't have a date.

I opened the cucumber book. The pages were crinkly—had that old book smell—and the words were written with a pen in block letters, which was much easier to read than a lot of people's scribbles.

I read.

_May 18, 2005_

_I've never kept a journal before, but what's just happened to me needs to be recorded. I've literally done what no man in written history has done before. Soon I'll be crossing scientific boundaries no one has dreamed of for I have taken the opportunity of a lifetime._

_But I'll backtrack a little. This journal will surely be famous one day so I'll write a bit about myself. My name is Seth Robert Hastings. My friends call me Bert, but my co-workers call me Seth. I am twenty-five years old, and just finished up my doctorate at the University of Celadon in ancient Pokemon two weeks ago. I grew up an only child just outside of Zahavah City in Acceber, and I did my undergrad at Zahavah University. I've been in contact with Professor Blubber since he helped me out with my thesis, and the professor recently asked me to help him with a project after I graduated. Yesterday I moved into an apartment in Cape Caution, and today I was supposed to meet with the professor to discuss that project._

_Everything changed this morning. I walked into my kitchen to make myself some sunny-side up eggs before I headed out to the lab and found a green fairy with glittery wings floating above my stove._

_Celebi._

_No joke. _

_I don't know much about Celebi, other than it can supposedly time travel. Oh, and I know some whacked religion has followers that perform creepy rituals on its behalf in Ilex forest. A few years ago a group of people were arrested for slaughtering several Slowpoke and scattering their mangled bodies there._

_Anyway, the Celebi in my kitchen smiled at me and spoke to me telepathically. {Professor Hastings, I've been watching you for some time now.}_

_That was a little disturbing, but I admit, there was a part of me pleased that a legendary Pokemon thought me worthy enough to look after._

_The Celebi continued, {I'd like to offer you an opportunity to continue your studies in ancient Pokemon. Some… firsthand experience.}_

_I stared at the little fairy, wondering if Celebi was a figment of my imagination. The legendary Pokemon looked so out of place floating above my dirty pans, in front of the cracked kitchen wall. "You mean, you'd take me back in time?" I asked._

_The Celebi's smile widened. {Yes. You could see for yourself the Pokemon world as it was fifteen thousand years ago.}_

"_Would I be able to come back here? To this time, I mean, when I wanted?"_

_Celebi nodded, it's antennae bobbing. This was too good to be true._

"_Okay, what's the catch?" _

_{No catch.}_

"_When do we leave?"_

_{Now.}_

_The world whirled and twisted around me. I felt like I might be sick so I bent over to clutch my stomach, only I couldn't seem to feel my arms. My ears popped. I blinked._

_I stood in the middle of a forest, a Murkrow cawing above my head. The sky was a dim orange—I couldn't tell if it was sunrise or sunset. When I looked up and down the thick growth around me, Celebi was nowhere to be found._

_Did I time travel, or did Celebi just teleport me somewhere? Was this even real? I pinched my elbow and it hurt. I didn't think that proved anything._

_I checked my belt. I had my two Pokemon—Poliwrath and Machoke—but I didn't have any food. I had three empty PokeBalls, the pen and notebooks I'd been holding to bring to my meeting with Professor Blubber, and my cell phone, which no longer had a signal._

_Somewhere behind me I could hear the ocean. I decided walking towards the sound would be my best bet. Maybe I could figure out where I was._

_It turned out the ocean was only about a mile away. The trees gradually spread out more, making it easier to see. The air around me cooled and the sky brightened. It was morning. I reached a cliff._

_I thought I recognized the shape of the land down below near the water—the thick arch of stone carved from the tide. It resembled the same cliff I'd stood on yesterday when taking a tour of Cape Caution. Only yesterday, there was a gym on the cliff. Today, there was nothing._

_The arch had also been thin, eroded. A heard of Tauros could trample this arch and it wouldn't break._

_Fifteen thousand years, Celebi had said?_

_Now I'm sitting by the cliff ledge. I've gathered strawberries for breakfast, waiting to be eaten as soon as I'm done writing this. Lucky I was holding the notebooks. I keep looking over the cliff at the rock arch, not quite sure if I can believe what's happened._

_Today, I plan on exploring. Maybe gathering some sticks to build a tent for shelter._

_I keep expecting to wake up, or one of my buddies to jump out from behind a tree and yell, "Haha, you fell for it!"_

_I can't stop the excitement from bubbling in my stomach. If I'm really fifteen thousand years in the past… Well, like I said, this is the opportunity of a lifetime._

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

After leaving the library and escaping the angry flower shop owner, I checked the Pokemon Center for Anita and Liam. They weren't in. When I called Anita, she didn't answer. I gave up looking for them. Honestly, I wasn't sure I was ready to face either of them with this newfound Liam-is-a-gym-leader info, and I certainly wasn't ready to face them while they were tied together. If I told Anita at all, it would not be while Liam was in the vicinity—he'd gone so out of his way to make sure we _didn't_ know.

I spent the afternoon researching all I could on Liam and his past as the Drape Town gym leader. I was so not going to walk all the way back to the library just to use a computer, and the lines for the computers in the Pokemon Center's lobby had been ridiculous. Thus, I slipped behind the front desk and past the operating rooms without even having to change into the nurse's outfit—the Pokemon Center was so busy no one noticed, or at least nobody bothered to stop me.

I decided using one of the upper floor computers would ensure nobody would bother me, and I ended up on the floor I was pretty sure Apple was staying on. Maybe I'd check up on her later.

My _research_ mostly comprised of me typing in various combinations of "Liam," "Mendol," and "gym leader" into _Zangoogle _(a much better search engine than _Yahoothoot!_) and sorting through the rumors to get to some base facts:

Liam had been the Drape Town gym leader for the past four years.

He took over after his father died of a heart attack.

Not one person had won a badge from him or his father. Statistics showed that most trainers avoided the gym altogether, opting to beat five of the other seven gyms to qualify for the Pokemon league.

Those were the only solid pieces of information I found. There were plenty of rumors circling, like his father being a member of Team Glop'emm, his father not actually being dead, and that Liam was currently fulfilling some secret gym-leader mission, which was why his prelim was to locate him.

Oddly, Liam's first name was never mentioned, which was confusing because his father was also referred to as "Mendol." It was also weird that I couldn't find a good picture of Liam; there were a few with him standing with the other gym leaders, but he was always dressed in a dark cloak that covered his face.

I guess I'd known Liam was paranoid, but this seemed a little extreme. I mean, what was the point? Why wouldn't he want people to know he was a gym leader?

Maybe he really was on some secret mission. It would explain why the other gym leaders weren't making a big deal about Liam's new prelim.

I clicked open a new tab. "Ahem."

I froze, slowly lowering my hand from the keyboard and turning my head around. Styx, Dustin's semi-bitchy girlfriend and nurse at the Pokemon Center, stood behind me, her arms folded across her chest.

"I don't remembering you checking in for a visit," she said. "I also don't remember giving anyone but our staff here permission to use the floor computers."

"Um… I can explain," I said, but Styx was looking past my shoulder at the computer screen. I moved to block her view and she smiled, flashing pearly white teeth.

"No, you can't, but I don't really care at the moment. Do you know where Anita is?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Haven't seen her since I left the gym. Why?"

Styx peered around my shoulder again. "You're a researcher, right?"

Choosing to let the abrupt change in subject slide, I said, "Well, I'd like to be some day. I was an assistant researcher for a year—"

"But not now? What are you doing now?"

"Traveling with Anita and Liam." I stuck my chin up, daring her to comment further on my lack of work.

Styx surprised me by saying, "How would you like an actual research job?"

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm not a Professor so the pay wouldn't be as good as you were getting, but I could give you enough to cover travelling expenses." Styx tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I could also probably get you some sweet benefits. I've got an in with the gym leaders, you know." She winked.

"You're offering me a job?" I asked in disbelief. A minute ago, I thought she was going to threaten to kick me out of the Pokemon Center for trespassing in private halls one too many times.

"Yes."

"So what would I be researching?" I almost glanced back at the computer. She'd better not want me to "research" what Liam was doing. I wouldn't spy on my friends, not for a billion dollars.

"Celebi."

The time travelling Pokemon? Why? "Uh, what about Celebi?"

"I want everything you can find. Books from the library, articles in the newspaper, common rumors of sightings or its powers—whatever you can get. I can give you a few contacts at Zahavah to get you started. I'd like you to call me weekly with whatever you've found." Styx grinned and she looked younger—like a child that's come up with a way to steal the cookies from the jar without anyone knowing. "So how about it?"

"Um, sure, I guess. You don't even want to see credentials or a recommendation or something?" This was just too weird.

"Nope." Styx held out her hand.

I took it.

"Great, I'll just need you to fill out some direct deposit—"

A nurse burst out of the elevator, panting. "Styx, Styx! There's a girl downstairs demanding to see you. A gym challenger by the look of her—tied to some unconscious boy her Eevees dragged here with her—she won't let us take a look at the boy until she's seen you. We don't know if it's bad enough to call the hospital—"

I caught Styx's eye knowingly. "C'mon," she said, hurrying to the elevator.

The lobby had cleared out considerably since I'd come into the Pokemon Center. Maybe not cleared out, I thought, seeing people packed around the edges of the room, hugging the walls and couch and leaving the middle of the lobby void of traffic.

It probably had something to do with Anita, standing in the middle of the lobby, surrounded by three growling Eevees and one sparking Jolteon. Liam slumped on the floor. "Don't you dare call the emergency room until I have a word with Styx—" Anita stopped talking when she spotted Styx approaching her.

Splash stepped forward, his pins bared. I decided it might be best to stay put by the front desk with the rest of the nervous wall-huggers.

Styx and Anita spoke in low voices I couldn't hear over the murmur of the other Pokemon trainers. Anita was furious with Styx for some reason. As she gestured angrily at Liam, his arm flopped against hers, like a puppet. Styx nodded and Anita said something quietly to Splash, who immediately backed off.

Styx turned around and started barking orders at the other nurses and the Chansey. Nurses hurried across the room like a swarm of frantic flies—some calming the other trainers and others helping Anita pick up Liam.

In under four minutes, we were back upstairs with Liam settled into a patient bed in a room across the hall from Apple's. Anita sat by his side in a plastic chair, no longer yelling. An improvement, to say the least.

I glanced at Liam. His mouth was opened slightly, his jaw at an awkward angle against the pillow. Anita let the arm that was tied to hers hang over the bed's metal railing. Should I take this opportunity to tell Anita about Liam's gym leaderness?

Styx entered the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She'd been reassuring the other nurses that she had everything under control. Liam, apparently, had a head bruise. He'd be out for another hour or so.

"How bad is he, really?" I asked her. I looked at Anita. "And what did _you_ do to him?" She frowned at me.

Styx raised an eyebrow at me. "I'd have called the hospital if he was seriously injured," she said. "Just some bruising, no concussion."

"You hit him over the head?" I asked in disbelief. "How? With what?" I'd never seen Anita successfully land a hit on Liam hard enough to do actual damage. I looked back at Styx. "And you just know he's going to be okay after touch his head for all of five seconds?"

"I've already had a Sableye look into it. He's fine," Styx snapped.

"Anita," I said, turning back to face her.

"Liam attacked me and Allo hit him over the head with an iron tail." Anita glared past me at Styx.

"Liam attacked you?" Uh-huh.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he's a psychotic freak bent on destroying my life with his fancy—but very breakable—technology."

"Anita…" I said slowly, taking a breath. Anita leaned back in her chair so it teetered. Splash and Sunflower hurried behind the chair to keep it from falling. I don't think she noticed. "What did you break of his?"

"The tran—syringe thingy."

"That was a vaccine to prevent PokeRus given to him by the professor he works for! It was important." Maybe attacking Anita was a little extreme, but hell, I'd be pissed if someone ruined my assignment. And that vaccine probably saved lives.

"Oh, so that's what he's been telling you guys."

I shook my head. "Anita, this is ridic—"

"No, Erin, you listen to me. Liam Mendol is crazy. He—" Anita stopped talking suddenly.

"He what?" I asked challengingly. Anita was being childish.

"Ugh, I hate this!" Anita yelled. Her chair fell backwards, and she landed on her back, the overturned chair shoved into the bed. Her Eevees scrambled to her side, licking her free hand and face. Anita kicked the chair out of her way and got to her feet. She looked at Styx. "You got me into this mess. Fix it."

Styx walked past me and picked up the chair. "I'm sorry we had a slight… miscommunication," she said.

"I'll call it even if you have a way to keep Liam knocked out until the battle tomorrow."

Styx smiled grimly. "You think this is the first time this has happened? That can be arranged."

"Seriously, Anita?" I said angrily. She didn't care that Liam was hurt, just about her gym battle. Was that why she hadn't called an ambulance? She thought they might untie Liam, ruin her chances at the gym? And what was Styx thinking, encouraging her?

"What?" Anita snapped. "He attacked me. I mean, its survive through the gym battle or cut this damn band now and go into hiding—because even you know, Erin, that he'd hunt me down."

"You really are a selfish, paranoid, and bratty—"

"Erin, stop. I really can't take this right now."

"Yeah, well neither can I."

I turned around and left the room, my stomach empty and my throat tight.

o o o o o o o o o o o

Erin left. Styx left. Liam was unconscious.

I sat in the dark, in a cold plastic chair, my wrist itchy where it touched Liam's.

Allo, Splash, Vanilla, and Sunflower lay beneath my chair, their tails brushing my ankles. It wasn't much comfort.

I was scared. Seriously freaked out, borderline good-thing-I'm-in-a-Pokemon-Center-because-I-might-have-a-panic-attack. I had a decision to make: fight or flee. Stay, act like a typical gym-driven trainer, battle. Or run. Abandon Erin, my journey, everything. Risk Apple or risk my life as I knew it. I'd always told Apple we could run away, go into hiding, but for the first time, I was actually considering it seriously. The thought of never seeing my friends again, of not talking to my mom—that was scary.

I didn't have any good options.

A part of me whispered to go because it'd be easier to abandon Erin than to make up with her, to leave Liam than to explain to him, to forget Styx because her existence made no sense. It was a stupid, petty part of me, but it felt bigger.

The door creaked open. Probably a nurse finally bringing in the cot. A sliver of light spilled into the dark room. A rather small, furry silhouette stood in the doorway.

Apple entered the room, her eyes glowing a soft violet—more violet than I'd seen her eyes since Celebi had sucked her powers dry. Apple's ears were perked, her nose held high.

And that smile. That little, devious smile as Fiery padded behind her, never moving his eyes from the sway of her tail even as he kicked the door shut with his hind legs.

That smile made me not care for the moment how upset the nurses were going to be when they discovered Apple's absence. Made me not care that Erin was mad at me, and that I had no idea who Styx was. Made me not care that Liam had tried to strangle me earlier today.

For just a moment, that smile made me smile.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I looked up at Scary and patted the open journal in my lap. "Did this really happen? My dad _time travelled?_"

Scary nodded.

I looked back at the open journal. The writing didn't sound like Dad, not how I remembered him anyway. He got tired jogging. Adventuring would make him like an old walking zombie or something. "He didn't mention having a Gengar. Where were you, Scary?"

Scary held a clawed hand over the book, and pages flipped forward rapidly. Then suddenly, the pages settled with the journal open to the middle. I stared at the page. At the top it said _Day 27._

"Hey, you've read this before," I accused. Not fair. He should've read me my dad's time travelling adventures.

Scary shook his head. {No, I lived through it.}

"You're from the past?"

Scary gestured to the book. {Just read.}

_Day 27_

_ The moving seaweed I've observed from the cliff for several days are Lileep. This morning, I scaled a low cliff four miles southwest of my camping sight. I'd only backtracked half a mile along the shore when I came across a Lileep in the sand bank. It was the size of my palm—a baby. Though I would usually not catch a Pokemon so young, for the sake of science I caught it within one of my empty PokeBalls. According to archeologists, Lileep became extinct a hundred million years ago. Either Celebi has lied about how far I've been taken back or I've made yet another outstanding discovery._

_ As I was climbing back up the cliff, I heard a dull thumping in the distance, from the direction opposite my camp. Whismur, perhaps? Or several Poliwag using Belly Drum._

_ Of course, I went to investigate. I followed the cliff for a mile, but when it was clear the sound was coming from the within the woods, I began picking my way through the giant trees and twisted ivy. Eventually I came to a large clearing, but saw no source of the thumping. The clearing was manmade—rectangular and stretching across a few acres. The ground was black, burned and spotted with car-sized craters. No human could have razed the ground so thoroughly._

_ The thumping was coming from my right, beyond the nearest edge of the clearing. As I approached, I heard voices—human voices humming and murmuring._

_ I hadn't known there were humans in the area. I've been exploring for nearly four weeks now without finding a sign of human existence—no tools, arrowheads, fire pits, and certainly no sounds. The clearing was the first indication I'd had of human habitation._

_ I walked across the clearing, and entered the woods again, this time careful to make as little noise as possible. Twice I nearly stumbled over a Seedot. In some ways, this past is very much like my present—the Seedot line still occupy the Cape Caution woods, as they have for tens of thousands of years. The Seedot, however, were more concentrated in this area than they had been along the edge of the woods. In fact, the concentration seemed to grow as I neared the thumping, the noise so loud I felt the vibrations in my bones._

_ Then I abruptly stumbled into another clearing. The thumping stopped._

_ If I'd been more practiced in wilderness navigation or even camping, perhaps I would've been able to hide in the bushes, like protagonists do in movies, clearly assessing the situation before implementing their clever plans. I didn't have a plan. Hell, I just wanted to observe._

_ Interrupting what appeared to be some primitive ritual pretty much destroyed any chance of me simply remaining a spectator._

_ This clearing was smaller than the wasted one I'd passed through, maybe only a fourth of the size. On the far side of the clearing there were large tents covered in furs and cloth, supported by thick tree branches. There were a few Manectric lounging beside the tents, perhaps guarding them. All of their muzzles were turned towards me, their eyes watching me like I was going to be their mid-afternoon snack. I noticed they all had long fangs protruding from their mouths—Manectric didn't have those fangs in my time._

_ However, it wasn't the Manectric that worried me. No, what worried me was the crowd of humans in lively colors gathered around a very still, but very alive bear. There had to be over a hundred people. They were mostly dressed in yellow and blue furs—perhaps Manectric fur—though I spotted shades of brown and red. No two outfits were exactly the same—the clothing was cut to cover the bodies however was easiest to cut or sew. There were more men than women gathered, and every person was over ten years old. They all had very light skin, and most had some shade of blond hair._

_ Every single one of them was looking directly at me in my torn cache pants and rugged cotton vest._

_ The bear in the center of circle roared. The men and women in the innermost ring of the circle all held sharp wooden spears. As if given some silent command, they all turned away from me and thrust the spears into the bear's neck._

_ I would've turned away if I'd known. I've never had much a stomach for blood. Instead, I stood very still, probably in shock. Some part of my brain noted that the bear stayed unnaturally upright when the spears were quickly withdrawn. A few too many heartbeats later, the bear slumped forward, a messy pile of blood and fur. I felt sick._

_ A purple mist seemed to trickle out of the bear's skin. It flowed forward, through the people and solidified in front of me. A Gengar._

_ The humans had all turned their attention back to me, and the ones closest to the Gengar moved back, clearing some space. I held my palms out. "I'm Bert. I don't mean any harm."_

_ I started to back away. After seeing the bear, I wasn't sure I needed to learn about these people. Not if it cost me my life._

_ The Gengar growled, his eyes glowing red. I stopped moving and avoided direct eye contact. Never look into the eyes of a Pokemon that can learn Hypnosis._

_ I saw the Gengar rush forward. Without a moment's hesitation I let out my Poliwrath and ordered a Hydropump. Perhaps I'd surprised the Gengar—he was hit head on, water splashing me and the closest of the humans behind the Gengar._

_ I expected the Gengar to be knocked out; not many Pokemon survive such a powerful, direct hit. Instead, when the water cleared, I saw the Gengar's eyes narrow at me as he shook the water off. His shadowy hand curled into a fist and he leapt at me._

_ I reacted the only way a defenseless human can react—I threw and empty PokeBall at the oncoming Gengar. I didn't expect the Gengar to be caught, just buy enough time for my Poliwrath to recover enough to get between me and the angry ghost Pokemon. The PokeBall shook three times. Poliwrath got to his feet and positioned himself in front of me in a fighting stance._

_ The PokeBall stilled. The Gengar was caught._

"Scary, that was you?" I asked, but I knew it was, even before Scary nodded.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I guess I looked pretty strange walking down the street with an unconscious body attached to my wrist carried by a Flareon and four Eevees. My Pokemon walked with their feet in sync to ensure Liam wouldn't fall off. We got a few strange, worried glances, but nobody commented after seeing my wrist tied to Liam's limp arm.

Styx was escorting us to the gym. To keep Liam asleep, she'd put ear buds in his ears, which were attached to a small MP3 playing Jigglypuff's voice on repeat.

Being tied to Liam was frustrating. I'd been able to give Apple a verbal summary of what happened, but I couldn't hear her thoughts on the situation. I couldn't know what she really thought of our plan, whether she thought it would work.

I let out a sigh, an ocean breeze cool against my skin, carrying the waft of the market strawberries. Strawberries reminded me of Erin. We hadn't talked since last night. I hadn't even seen her—I'd slept in the patient room beside Liam. I guess I didn't really expect Erin to come to my gym battle after our fight, but she'd come to all of my others and it felt strange to be going without her.

Thinking about it, I hadn't seen Jake in a while either. Hopefully, he'd packed up and left town without us.

We reached the dome shaped gym. My heartbeat picked up, despite my best efforts to calm myself—I couldn't afford to be nervous. Apple was depending on me.

In a bush between the gym and a clothing shop next door, I saw a prickle of yellow. Splash peeked his head up from within the bush, winked at me, and then ducked back down. At least he was enjoying his role in all of this. A pity I wouldn't be using him in the gym battle after all that training we did, but his electricity was necessary for my plan. I eyed a vent leading into the gym near the bush. The other end of the vent was under the gym bleachers near the arena; the blueprints of the gym had been easily accessed though the Pokemon Center computer at the end of the hall on Apple's floor.

Once again, when I entered the gym, my ears popped.

The lights were brighter than they'd been on my last visit. It hurt to look at the battlefield's carved metal boundaries when at an angle that they directly reflected the bright light. Dustin and Tali stood at the far end of the gym in front of their throne platform on the edge of the arena. Neither of them reacted to the sight of Liam. Guess what Styx had said was true—apparently, a challenger returning with a knocked out partner wasn't very uncommon.

Dustin raised an eyebrow at Styx. "You said you were working all day."

"This qualifies," Styx said. She bent over Liam and removed the ear buds and MP3 player. I held my breath. Liam didn't wake up.

"You helped her?" Dustin asked. He didn't sound angry, just curious. "Just last week you complained that Tali and I should disqualify contenders of who don't return fully conscious."

Styx shrugged and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. "We're supposed to help endangered Pokemon and trainers in this city—you two created PRAHA. Liam was a danger to Anita and her Pokemon. I helped."

"Fine." Dustin narrowed his eyes at Styx in a way that made me suspect this conversation would be continued later. "Anita Parkwood, you have completed part one of the prelim. Styx will cut the tie between you and Liam, and then we will fight."

Styx opened the cabinet she'd initially taken the band out of while Tali stepped forward. "The rules of the fight are simple. Dustin and I are a team. You and Liam are a team. When a participant is knocked out of bounds, the participant is out. When both team members of one team are out, the opposing team wins."

"What are the boundaries?" I asked.

"The metal lines depicting the battlefield," Tali answered. There was a snipping at my side, and my hand was suddenly free. Styx held the band in one hand and the scissors in the other.

I yanked my hand away from Liam, whose hand fell limply to the ground, and flexed my fingers, smiling.

{Free at last!} My mind automatically connected with Apple's first, and I was surprised to find a speck of her power had returned.

{Yup. Still too drained for telekinesis or barriers, but telepathy's working,} Apple said. She looked at Fiery slyly, and when she caught Fiery's eye, he looked promptly away. What exactly had Apple been up to, stuck in a room with Fiery, for over twenty-four hours…?

Apple looked up at me with innocent eyes, but a wicked grin. I touched Sunflower, Allo, Vanilla, and Fiery's minds, thanking them for carrying Liam. Then I sent a psychic pulse out farther and located Splash—he was already in the gym's ventilation system. Perfect.

Dustin cleared his throat. "Your Pokemon will need to wait in the stands, of course."

I wistfully pulled out four Pokeballs and returned Fiery, Sunflower, Allo, and Vanilla. I would've let them stay out, but Liam might've gotten suspicious when he woke up if Splash wasn't among my Pokemon. I put the Pokeballs in my pack, which Styx took while herding Apple towards the gym's bleachers.

As Apple shuffled through missed plans and memories in my head, I bent over Liam and took out the headphones. "Liam, wake up." I nudged Liam with my foot, but jumped away quickly, just in case Liam woke up with the same idea he'd had when Allo knocked him out.

"Challenger, are you ready to begin?" Dustin asked haughtily. Like he didn't freakin' know my name.

"No," I snapped. "Liam?"

No response. Shit.

"The referee will begin the battle in thirty seconds."

I glanced up, not having noticed a referee in the gym before. Styx stood on the sidelines, a flag in hand. She winked at me and tilted her head toward a timer that was suddenly projected onto the gym's curved ceiling. _27…26…_

Great. Just great. She'd better not be biased.

{Shake him,} Apple suggested. I did. I lifted Liam's shoulders off of the ground and shook. He was dead weight. "Liam, wake up!" Drool dribbled out of his mouth onto my hand. Gross. I hastily dropped him and wiped my hand on his shirt.

I looked up.

_15…14…13…_

My mind was scrambling. Crap, I couldn't fight Dustin and Tali alone. My psychic powers weren't even stronger than Dustin's _copied_ psychic powers.

"Liam!"

{Anita, remember Tali's power!} Apple said. I glanced up. Tali and Dustin were still standing calmly at the other end of the field. Tali took a deep breath. I let my mind drift into hers, she was calming herself, preparing for that first bellow—

Tali controlled sound. I needed earplugs—that was more important than waking Liam; he'd be up seconds after she yelled.

_7…6…_

Dustin grinned at me, shaking out his blonde hair. I stuck my hand down Liam's pocket. Where'd he put them?

_2…1…_

I shut my eyes and leapt away from Liam. Barriers. I needed barriers shaped like earplugs in my ears _now_.

Suddenly, there was a pressure on my head. I opened my eyes. Dustin was wincing and Tali had her mouth open, but I couldn't hear her. I couldn't hear anything.

Something grabbed my ankle. I jumped and nearly tripped. Liam looked up at me with a bizarre mix of pain and anger. He opened his mouth, but I couldn't hear the words. Grimacing, Liam rolled over and covered his ears, releasing my ankle.

Dustin settled into a stance with his legs apart, arms flung in front of him. I felt psychic energy gathering in front of his palms…

I whipped up a barrier to encompass Liam and me. Liam lay still on the ground for just a moment. He sat up, taking in our surroundings through the purple tint of my barrier. I saw his mouth move, but heard nothing.

Liam got to his feet and looked at me. His gaze hit me like a bucket of cold water. His mouth moved again.

I realized I still had my barrier earplugs in my head. I released them.

"What?" I asked.

"I said, give me one good reason not to beat the life out of you."

Okay, Anita, ignore the fact that he's talking stoically about your death. Ignore it and deal with it later. "There are gym leaders watching," I answered.

"Fine. Give me one good reason not to walk away from this prelim, leave you to lose, and later beat the life out of you."

I shuddered at a crash against my barrier. Dustin was trying to psychically break in. I realized that Apple was adding what little energy she could to the barrier—why it hadn't already caved. "You hate losing," I said.

"Not as much as I hate you at this moment." Liam turned. If he walked through my barrier, it would shatter, and we would be bombarded by both Dustin and Tali's attacks. That was just a small reason to stop Liam from leaving though, compared to my huge plan to help Apple that depended entirely on Liam staying.

"I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you everything I know about Mew."

Liam stopped mid-step and turned to face me. "I don't believe you."

"I swear." There was another crash against my barrier. It felt like a crack through my skull. "I—please, Liam."

"Tell me now."

Another crash. I saw lights behind my eyelids. "I can't, I can't hold on… on much longer," I gasped, bracing my hands on my knees.

"One piece. Give me a piece now and tell me the rest after we win."

Arceus, I hadn't prepared for this. "Near Melonbi," I blurted out. "Near Melonbi Town, I saw Mew."

The pressure was too great—the barrier wasn't just going to shatter, it was going to blow, it was going to collapse into me—

A hand was held in front of my nose. The hand I'd been attached to for up until about two minutes ago. Liam raised his eyebrows at me, expectant.

"The rules. The rules to the prelim—stay in bounds—push them out," I said. "And strategy from yesterday… I'll get in Dustin's head and—" The pressure on my head was too overwhelming. I took Liam's hand. All the pressure vanished.

There was a brief moment of silence. Liam pushed something into my hand—

Tali yelled and all strategic thoughts fled my brain.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

{Mel, we should go back. Sparky will start to worry,} Scary said, lightly tugging at the book.

"No! I wanna keep reading!" I tugged the book back.

{Mel—}

"But I didn't finish the last entry—just till the end of it. Please?" I gave Scary my big eye look that usually gets me candy.

Scary let go of the book. {Fine.}

_ I stepped forward and picked up the PokeBall of the newly caught Gengar. There was a murmuring through the crowd: quiet, fearful noises. I returned Poliwrath to his PokeBall, trying to show that I didn't want to fight._

_ A man wearing all blue along with a necklace of sharp teeth pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Later, I learned he was Ahigetric, head of this Shiftry Clan. Ahigetric called something in harshly in a language I didn't know. There was rustling through the crowd and a woman was suddenly pushed to the front. _

_ The woman was tall, 5' 7'' maybe, with waist-length blonde, almost silver, hair and the palest blue eyes I've ever seen. Her outfit was different from every other person's—though she wore the same Manectric fur, there was a tint of green to both the yellow and the blue. Looking closer, I realized that green strands of fur or hair of another Pokemon had been sewn into her clothes. She gestured at me and said something to Ahigetric in an urgent tone._

_Ahigetric caught the woman by the wrist and thrust her towards me. The crowd quieted. Only sparing one angry glare at Ahigetric, the woman marched towards me, almost defiantly as if she had something to prove. I realized with a start that she was beautiful. My heart beat a little faster._

_The woman stopped a few yards away from me. I pointed at myself and said, "Bert." Then I held out my hand._

_She stared at my hand. I guess expecting a handshake was fairly stupid of me. I let my hand fall to my side. The woman asked me something, fingering the green threads of her outfit._

"_I'm sorry, I don't understand," I said, holding my palms out and trying to look as harmless as possible._

_The woman took another step forward, tentatively reaching out her hand. When I lifted my hand to touch hers, she drew back. I put my hands back down by my sides. "Alright, then," I said._

_The woman's eyes watched me carefully. Then she reached out and gently brushed my cotton collar. She fingered the material in amazement, moving her hand down to my sleeve. She murmured something under her breath, looked up at me with those pale blue eyes, and asked another question in that language I didn't understand._

_I shrugged. The movement caused her finger to touch the skin on my arm._

_The woman took a step back and repeated the question. This time, I made out the word, "Celebi." Finally, something I understood._

_I nodded and said, "Yes, Celebi. Celebi brought me here."_

_A look of relief crossed the woman's face. She picked a green thread off of her clothing, took my right hand in hers, and tied the strand around my finger. Then she grabbed my wrist and shoved it in the air, turning to the crowd. "Celebi!" she shouted. "Celebi!"_

_ "Celebi!" the crowd answered. There was joyous laughter and some of the people started banging on hollow wooden drums. The woman took my hand and pulled me into the mass of people. Hands reached out to touch my arms and clothing. I had to slap a few hands that strayed too close to my PokeBalls._

_ The woman pulled me past the crowd, past the Manectrics to a tent at the edge of the clearing. Unlike the clothing, the tents were covered in a material thicker than Manectric fur. After seeing the little ceremony, I suspected it was bear hide. The tent she pulled me into was no different than the others except for the bits of green strands woven into the tent hide, just as the green strands in the woman's clothing._

_ The inside of the tent was bigger than it appeared from the outside. There was a bed of hay on one side of the tent, probably for sleeping. Above the hay bed hung various sized ceramic bowls. On the other side of the tent, there was a pile of black feathers, a stone carving, and several wooden spears resting against the wall—the same type of spears that had been used to kill the bear._

_ The woman settled down cross-legged on the hay bed and seemed oddly at ease, her fine straight hair flowing over around her shoulders like a blanket. She pointed to herself and said, "Abetzi."_

_ Not knowing what else to do, I sat down across from her. "Bert."_

_ "Bert," the woman repeated. She smiled and said something. Even if I could understand her language, I wouldn't have heard what she was saying. That damn smile was just so… enchanting, lovely… beautiful? It warmed the entire room, like a fireplace on a snowy evening. _

_ The woman's smile faded. She asked me something._

_ "Celebi?" I said, wagging my finger that had the green strand tied to it._

_ Abetzi frowned, giving me an almost disapproving look. "Gengar."_

_ I pulled the Gengar's PokeBall from my pocket and pressed the release button. Abetzi gasped as the room flashed red for a moment. When the Gengar solidified in front of her, she reached out to touch the Pokemon's pointed ear, as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. "Taabata," she murmured, running her hand over the Gengar's head. She didn't seem worried about looking directly into the Gengar's eyes._

_ "Taabata?" I asked._

_ Abetzi spoke rapidly to the Gengar, gesturing to me. Suddenly, the Gengar faded. Unwarranted images flashed across my mind, and I knew the Gengar was within my body. I shook my head, as if the action could cast the ghost Pokemon out. One of the images was of Celebi floating above the tents, the sunlight glinting across the legendary's wings. The other images were blurred, zooming through my mind too fast for me to comprehend. Finally, a word appeared in my mind. {Sign.}_

_ {Taabata, sign.} I knew the Gengar was speaking from within my mind._

_ I blinked and could see the world around me again. The woman scooted forward and poked my chest. "Taabata."_

_ Great, I was a sign._

_ "Of what?" I asked._

_ My own memories flashed across my mind, memories of when I was a child asking my father questions I couldn't yet begin to comprehend about babies, memory, bottle caps… Somehow, I knew the Gengar was using my memories to understand me, to literally understand my language. I found this strange. In our time, all Pokemon innately understand all human language, even while humans cannot understand each other. Pokemon are used as translators everywhere. Growing up, I was of course told the fairy tale of "Jirachi and the Sentret's Wish," but I'd never believed it. I never believed there was a Pokemon powerful enough to grant all Pokemon the ability to understand all languages._

_ Suddenly, the images changed and slowed. The Gengar had understood my question and was answering it. I saw the Shiftry Clan bowing to Celebi, worshipping the time travelling fairy. They were in another land, a flatter land, where the clan grew crops. I saw Celebi teach the clan to sharpen tree branches shed by Shiftry into sharp spears, and saw the clan learn to hunt dear with those spears, adding meat to their mostly grain diet. I saw a time of peace and prosperity. _

_Then the sky darkened. A blue fire, ravaging the fields. A spot of purple in the sky. The clan moved, migrated north. They lived because they could hunt, because Celebi had taught them. They prayed to Celebi and Celebi brought them to this forest. The men cut trees, plowed an enormous field, while women searched for Shiftry. The Shiftry were much more abundant in the forest, but harder to spot. Normal branches could be used to create the clan's tents, but not the clan's weapons. Celebi had deemed it so. Abetzi, the clan's so-called witch, befriended the local spirits, exchanging food and protection for help finding the Shiftry. _

_When the field was plowed and sewn with grain and the tents nearly complete, the Shiftry Clan threw a great celebration. A sudden crash interrupted their dancing, their drums. Something pink shot across the sky. More crashing, coming from their newly-plowed field. Children hid behind the legs of their mothers, and the Manectric growled._

_Ahigetric, head of the Shiftry Clan, chose six men to accompany him to the field. Abetzi and the Gengar followed. No one stopped them._

_There were two large craters in the field. Above the field the psychic legendary Pokemon, Mew, floated. Mew plunged suddenly towards the earth, its fist curled by its face. Where the legendary struck, another crater was formed._

_Another Mew appeared next to the first Mew. It too, struck the ground. This Mew's crater was bigger. The earth shook when its fist touched soil, and fires burst across the few unharmed patches of soil. The first Mew rushed forward to extinguish the flames with its tail, whipping the earth until the ground was but a mound of long burnt scars._

_Ahigetric, the six men, and Abetzi were horrified. They yelled at the Mews, shook their fists, and trembled because for all their anger, they were afraid. Only Abetzi stepped forward and ordered Gengar forth. Ordered an attack._

_The Gengar rushed forward and the Mews teleported._

_The scene changed. Celebi promising the people revenge. Using bears as an example of what must be done._

_One man questioned why Celebi could not take the revenge into its own hands. Celebi never explained, but the man felt Celebi's wrath. For the first time, the clan feared Celebi, but they continued learning. Learning how to slay Mew._

"_When?" the Ahigetric asked Celebi once. "When will we have our revenge?"_

_Celebi always answered with that tiny fairy smile. {Soon after the sign comes.}_

"_What sign?"_

_Celebi's smile widened._

_The images faded. Abetzi blinked at me. I knew I had seen the Gengar's memories; I knew, but didn't quite believe. Not just Celebi, but Mew was somehow involved here? And why was I a sign? Why did Celebi bring me, use me? Hell, I wanted to observe and study the past, not be a part of it._

_Abetzi touched my hand, smiling._

_Warmth flooded my stomach, and I suddenly felt a yearning to sit here with Abetzi, forget my problems, and just bask in her presence. I looked at my hand in hers. It was shrouded in a sort of purple smoke. The Gengar was still within me. I vaguely wondered whether the sudden intense loyalty I was feeling belonged to the Gengar or me._

"_You will stay. We will teach each other." Abetzi spoke. Words I didn't know, I understood with the Gengar feeding my mind subconscious translations._

_With Abetzi's hand in mine, I nodded. I couldn't say no. "I'll need to get my stuff from my camp."_

_A tendril of purple floated across my hand to Abetzi's. She closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded._

"_Yes, of course." She stood up suddenly, and the purple smoke flooded before her, materializing into the Gengar. I felt a bit empty, but strangely still calm._

_I gestured around the room. "This should be scary," I said._

_Abetzi looked at me, puzzled. She couldn't understand me. "Scarrr—ee?"_

"_Scary," I confirmed._

_She looked at the Gengar. He shrugged. Abetzi leaned forward and patted the Gengar's ears. "Scary," she said, fondly. "Scary." Then Abetzi stood up and stepped through the flap of the tent. "Scary, vanguish."_

_The Gengar faded through the tent wall, following Abetzi and leaving me alone and bewildered. I'm pretty sure neither of them understood that because of the PokeBall, the Gengar was bound to me. They both probably assumed the effects of the PokeBall were temporary. I let it go for now because I needed time alone, time to get adjusted. _

_I opened this journal up to write everything down. None of the other clan members have bothered me yet. I don't know why Abetzi's presence seemed to comfort me, and when I consider my pull towards her, I'm quite frightened. Maybe she really is a witch. Now that she's left for the moment, I don't know if I should leave or accept the clan's hospitality._

_No, that's not true. I already know I'm going to stay here, see what happens next. I'm too curious. The scientist in me wants to know what happens to Mew, the rationalist in me figures Celebi's my only way back, and the emotional lunatic in me just wants the chance to touch Abetzi's hand again._

_Also, I think I've inadvertently named the Gengar Scary. Go figure._

I looked at Scary. "So that… that was how you met my father?"

Scary nodded.

"That woman, Abetzi. Did she have a ghost gift?"

Scary grinned.

I hesitated. "Was she… was she my mother?"

There was a crash to the left of me. I heard grown-ups swearing.

{We have to go, Mel. The police have come to search the house for evidence.}

"Was she my mother?"

{Yes.}

I hugged the journals to my chest. "I want to keep reading."

{You can. We'll bring the books back to Sparky's. We can store them in the attic—but we need to go before the police find us here.}

I turned invisible and floated up, wondering if Abetzi could do the same. "Let's go."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The noise brought me to my knees—my ears felt like they were being scooped out with pliers. Instinctively, my mind thrust away from my body to escape the pain. I could think more clearly with the sound distant. Maybe I could jump into Tali's mind and force her to stop yelling.

{Anita, you need to put the earplugs Liam gave you in, or make barrier earplugs if you don't want to lose your hearing,} Apple said.

But the sound. I didn't want to hear—no, better to stop Tali. I sent multiple psychic tendrils towards Tali. I wished I could see what Liam was doing—he was invisible to my mind.

{Anita, I'm serious. Earplugs now.}

A force cut me off, shoved me back toward my body. I created barriers in my ears just before I returned.

My head was still ringing. Liam was running towards Tali, his eyes narrowed in on her—it was the look he had before he hit something. Dustin created a barrier under Tali, raising her above the ground out of Liam's reach. Liam stopped mid-run as Tali took a deep breath. He was right below her. He scrambled to get away, but she released her breath, directly over him.

Sound is usually just a bit of pressure oscillating through the air. Tali, however, had the ability to create more than just a _bit_ of pressure. That's what I found out when I threw up a barrier over Liam.

The vibrations hit the barrier, travelled down those invisible psychic tendrils back to my mind, and scrambled my brain. And I'd thought I'd had a headache before.

Dustin ran through my barrier, collapsing it—he must've copied Liam's gift. The platform barrier Tali'd been on disappeared as well, and she landed on bent legs behind Liam. Dustin smirked—they had Liam surrounded. Liam snickered right back.

At once, Dustin and Tali rushed in, Dustin making to grab Liam's legs, Tali his arms. Focus, Anita, I thought to my pounding head. I thrust up two small barriers—one in front of Dustin's feet and one in front of Tali's.

Dustin stepped right through my barrier, but Tali stumbled, enabling Liam to turn and kick Tali in the stomach. She fell backwards toward the boundary—

A barrier caught Tali before she fell out of bounds. I tried to shatter Dustin's barrier while Tali leaned on it, hitting it with all the psychic force I could muster, but it held strong.

Liam and Dustin were fighting in a blur of complex kicks and punches. Liam was faster—rolling under Dustin's foot and tripping him from below, but he couldn't seem to pin Dustin down or force Dustin toward the boundary. Dustin blocked Liam's kicks with his arms, laughing as Liam danced around him and failed to land any major hits or force Dustin back. In fact, Dustin was backing Liam towards the center of the battlefield, away from the boundary behind him.

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of me and my body was flung backwards so fast my mind and body separated. I struggled to send psychic tendrils back fast enough to keep my body from being thrown out of bounds. I made it, but barely.

For a moment my body was suspended against the barrier. Even with my consciousness out of my body, I could feel the bruises forming along my back.

I sent my mind at Tali, knowing that if she continued yelling, my barrier would break and I'd be thrown beyond the boundary.

I shoved my way into her mind. {La, la, la, la, la, la, la…} "La, la, la." I was in! I felt Dustin shatter the barrier holding my body. Through Tali's eyes, I saw my barrier fall apart and my body slump to the ground, my fingers touching the metal border but not going beyond it.

I bombarded Tali's mind with the sensations my body was currently undergoing—returning the freakin' headache she'd given me.

"Tali, finish it!" Dustin yelled. Tali and I both looked at Dustin, who finally faltered under a kick to the gut. Liam rebounded off the balls of his feet, pouncing at Dustin—

{Get out, get out, get—} My hands—Tali's hands pulled at her hair. "Get out!" she yelled.

The same force that'd shattered my barrier—Dustin—yanked me from Tali's mind. I felt the power Tali had released, felt the sound propagate towards my body and Dustin's. I couldn't feel where Liam was, but then, I never could.

The sound waves hit my body with full force, but Tali hadn't been specifically aiming at me so there wasn't enough force to actually move my body. I felt the sound waves dissipate before they hit Dustin. Interesting. Either Tali could move sound vibrations through the air like psychics could telekinetically move objects—but no, Liam and I'd have already been pushed out if she had that type of power—or…

I rushed back to my body. Ignoring my groaning bones, I jumped to my feet. "Liam!"

Liam either couldn't hear me—he had earplugs in and his head was probably ringing as much as mine was, after all—or he was too preoccupied fighting Dustin. Dustin was no longer risking physical injury and had started mimicking Tali's powers to prevent Liam from getting anywhere near Dustin's body.

Liam had the disadvantage of not being able to put up psychic barriers. To keep from being blown away by strong sound waves he had to drop and cling to the ground or stay a good ten meters away from Dustin where the sound wave's power wasn't strong enough to cause physical injury.

I stumbled towards Liam. Sensing Tali behind me, I tripped her again the moment she took a breath to release a sound wave in my direction. "Liam, open your damn mind!"

Dustin let out a bellow that forced Liam to roll to the edge of the arena. Running towards Liam, I glimpsed Apple and Styx behind him, their eyes wide. Dustin took a deep breath, about to release another sound wave at Liam—no doubt this one would knock him beyond the boundaries with Liam so close to the edge.

I mustered my powers, throwing a barrier between them. Suddenly, Dustin turned his golden gaze to me. I was close enough that I could see Liam had ripped a sleeve off of Dustin's white t-shirt and abruptly realized I was much too close to Dustin.

Trap. Shit.

Time seemed to slow as Dustin opened his mouth. I psychically felt the vibrations in his throat transfer to the air and knew I was done for—

I hit the ground hard, something heavy pressing me to the gym floor as the sound wave roared around me so loud it made my eyes water.

When I could hear again, I craned my head around. Liam got up off of me in one swift movement, ready to dart at Dustin. "Wait!" I put up a semispherical barrier around us, more to keep Dustin and Tali from hearing me than to block their attacks. "Liam, you need to let me into your mind now—"

Liam looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief.

He wasn't going to listen unless I explained, and even then, maybe not. I spoke quickly. "Dustin doesn't have earplugs; he's been mimicking Tali's power to release his own sound waves that destructively interfere with hers so wherever he is located, the sound waves cancel out." Liam's eyes gazed past me, perhaps looking at Dustin. "So there'll—"

"—be other locations of destructive interference," Liam finished. He looked at me hard, calculating.

"I can sense how much power is being used by each of them, but I can't calculate where the areas of destructive interference will be—where Dustin's waves will cancel Tali's—" I felt Tali get up behind me, inhaling. Not just Tali—Dustin was getting ready, too. "You can, though—you can calculate where they'll be," I said. Or at least he could if he had half the brain I thought he had.

There wasn't any time. I released my barrier, making it clear that if he didn't open his mind we'd lose this because Dustin and Tali were going to attack us at once. "Now, Liam."

And suddenly, I could sense Liam's mind. Apple had once compared the mind to an onion and my psychic powers to an onion's scent. She'd said people using their dark gifts encased their onion-minds in diamond—no scent could ever break through. Later she'd told me the darkly gifted could control this encasing.

She hadn't warned me of the vacuum-like effect opening the encasing would have on _my _mind.

Liam's mind at once glittered like the inside of a diamond and felt empty—a void that had to be filled. I was pulled toward it and _wanted_ to be pulled toward it. I wanted nothing more than to dive into the center of the void, but diamond-like barriers jutted out, prevented me from passing further than just below the surface.

{The fight, Anita.}

Liam's voice. I could hear Liam. I showed him the power I sensed building in the base of Tali's and Dustin's throats. Liam ran through a complex set of calculations involving the angles the sound waves would meet at and their amplitudes. When I was suddenly visualizing a 3D image of the arena with a variety of colors illustrating the sound waves, I realized that Liam had the best visual memory of any person I'd ever touched minds with.

I was unexpectedly shoved back into the real, non-glittery, physical world. I didn't even have time to blink before Liam yanked me across the field.

Dustin and Tali were both yelling. Apple was shaking, desperately covering her ears with her paws. The pressure threw Styx past the bleachers—she was lucky to have not hit her head. The bleachers rattled, and one of the thrones on the platform fell over.

Liam and I stood near the center of the arena, untouched by the sound. We stood within inches of each other, Liam's hand on my shoulder to keep me within the wave cancellation zone, careful not to brush my skin and cut off my psychic powers.

Liam kept the telekinetic link open, again showing me the image of the arena and the sound waves, now emphasizing the areas on the arena where there would be constructive interference—where the sound waves would combine to be stronger.

With two well-placed barriers shooting out from beneath each twin's feet, I gently nudged the gym leaders into the constructive interference zones. The effect was immediate. Both gym leaders were propelled well beyond the arena borders. Dustin was thrown far enough to knock over the remaining upright thrown.

The gym was silent—eerily so now that Dustin and Tali weren't yelling.

Styx got to her feet shakily. Her arm was bleeding as she declared, "The challenger, Anita Parkwood, has won the prelim."


	43. Act One: To Travel

{{{{{{{{{{{{

As promised, here is the next chapter. Also, if you guys ever notice a formatting issue, let me know so I can fix it. FF does some strange, unexpected things sometimes. I know the poem at the beginning of last chapter ended up formatted kind of weirdly, but I can't figure out how to make it more normal looking. Sooo, on to reviews!

OBR - Thanks!

ChaosAngel4us - These next few chapters are very action packed, heh. :) Ehh, and I don't think it's possible for Erin to be completely understanding because unlike us and Anita, she doesn't know what's going on.

Mortimer S- Wow. I think that was the longest review I've ever gotten. Awesome. Yeah, I've always thought there's so much potential for really cool plots with all the different powers Pokemon have, and the TV show, the games, the manga don't seem to quite do that potential justice... I'm glad you like my characterization, although I actually think that's what I need to work on the most. About Liam's calculations of sound cancellation- I actually did an experiment in one of my classes where we calculated the location of sound destructive and constructive interference based on different locations of sound sources. Supposing Anita can sense the amplitude of the sound waves, it should be possible. While I certainly couldn't calculate that in my head, Liam's a smart cookie. Anywho, bout Team Glop'emm name... I pretty much played around with words like "Pokemon" and "money" until I found an acronym I liked. I'm glad you enjoy my names and general plot. Thank you for putting so much into your review!

Thank you to my readers and reviewers! You guys keep me writing.

And a very special thanks to my editor. Not only has she revised all of my chapters, but she's made this absolutely wonderful website: http:/sites(DOT)google(DOT)com/site/fieryapple/info

(Replace (DOT) with . ) She updated it recently to include all the "Previously ons". It's really, really awesome. Check it out!

This next chapter is the first part of 3, kind of like chapters 19 through 21. I will definitely be returning to my monthly chapter release schedule after this, hopefully starting with around the beginning of January (aiming for the 1st, we'll see...).

Enjoy the chapter!

_Previously on An Apple a Day:_

Erin discovers Liam is gym leader of Drape Town, and Styx recruits Erin to research Celebi.

Mel and Scary return to the dusty old mansion Mel was raised in to get Professor Hastings' journals before the gym leaders search the house. Mel reads about Professor Hastings' time travel experience:

Professor Hastings was taken back in time 15,000 years by Celebi. Hastings comes across a clan of people who worship Celebi who call themselves the Shiftry Clan. The clan uses a Gengar to immobilize a bear so it can be killed. Professor Hastings fights and catches the Gengar (Scary). The clan's "witch," Abetzi, is able to communicate to Hastings through Scary that the clan's land has been destroyed multiple times by Mew (being born and later Mew's training). The clan takes Professor Hastings' arrival as a sign that the clan will soon get their revenge for Mew's destruction.

Meanwhile, Anita and Liam fight Tali and Dustin as the second part of the Artemis Town Gym's prelim. To get Liam to stay and fight with her, Anita promises to tell him everything she knows about Mew. They beat the prelim.

}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 40: (Act 1) To Travel

"Dustin! Dustin, can you hear me?" Styx hovered over Dustin, taking his hand in hers.

Dustin was seriously hurt—he lay in his tattered clothing near the edge of the platform with his left leg twisted at an angle that shouldn't be possible. When the sound wave flung him out of bounds, he knocked over one of the large chair thrones and apparently it fell on his leg. I didn't even notice anything was amiss until Tali called Dustin's name and he didn't answer.

"Ambulance is on its way," Tali said, returning her phone to a pocket. Her clothes were in better shape than Dustin's, but with her ochre hair matted and frizzy, you'd think she'd just lost a fight to a blow drier, not to Liam and me. Tali approached the platform and peered at her brother. "I'd get his Pidgeot to carry him over if I thought he'd be able to stay on."

I glanced over my shoulder. Liam had taken a seat in the bleachers next to Apple, staring off at the ceiling as if nothing was amiss. I guess Dustin was kind of an asshole, but it sure took a cold heart to ignore someone—even Dustin—with a broken leg.

"Dustin," Styx whispered. "Damn, wake up. I can heal—look!"

I snapped my head back around. Dustin's eyes fluttered open. "Styx?" He tried to sit up, but Styx pushed him back down.

"Hey now, take it easy." Styx locked eyes with gym leader. The way they looked at each other made me want to gag—they were eye-canoodling, or that's what Mia called it once when Mia spotted our math and history teachers looking at each other that way. "Do you want me to…?"

Dustin closed his eyes and shook his head. "Of course not." They must have some secret language to understand each other with such vague words, or maybe Dustin was tapping into that psychic mimicry again.

"An ambulance is on the way," Styx said.

Dustin's eyes shot open again. "I'm fine, really. I just… just need to battle Mendol and the psychic twerp."

"If your leg wasn't already broken, I'd kick your shins for even thinking that," Tali said. "We'll delay the battle until—"

"After I get a cast, of course—"

"—you're feeling completely better—"

"—tonight."

"—in a week." Dustin and Tali glared at each other. I faintly heard sirens.

"How about we wait and see what the doctor says?" Styx said, moving between the twins.

The sirens grew louder and soon there were nurses and firemen flooding into the gym. Dustin was put on a stretcher, and I joined Liam on the bleachers, waiting for the crowd to disperse. As Dustin was carried past us, he said, "I'll be seeing you two later today."

I highly doubted it but wasn't going to argue.

"And you guys made a mess of the gym so I fully expect—" Dustin was carried out the door. Styx and Tali hurried after the medical staff.

I turned to Liam. "Right so, you wanna go grab some lunch?"

Liam leaned back, casually putting his hands behind his head. "Discuss your relation to… a certain Pokemon… over pasta?"

{Eeks,} Apple commented.

I gulped. "Sure."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The attic didn't smell as good as my old mansion, but it was a good place to hide from Sparky when Scary and I read about my father and his adventures.

We'd skipped ahead of the cucumber book to the dusty violet journal.

_Day 457_

_ Abetzi is round as the moon with our child. Any day now, she will surely give birth. As I have expressed so many times, I wish we were in my time to ensure Abetzi and our child's health. Frolikki the birthing mother has lost two women in this past year alone._

_ I fear for what will happen to us after the child is born. Ahigetric only tolerates my presence because in the clan, it is a man's responsibility to look after and provide for his wife throughout her pregnancy. Still, Ahigetric reminds me every day that I shame the clan, forbidding me to wear the same Manetric fur as the rest and requiring me to empty the latrines before dinner when Abetzi is resting. My arrival was to signal the time had come to take revenge upon Mew for destroying the Shiftry clan's crop fields. As Celebi has yet to manifest itself, I suppose Ahigetric's disgust with me is understandable._

_ I do wish the other clan members were less inclined to follow Ahigetric's example. Abetzi tried to help, but she was already a bit of an outsider when I arrived. The clan's witch. The other clan members think I can't understand their whispering as they speculate about whether I'm a plaything Abetzi conjured, whether our child will be a daemon, if perhaps they should sacrifice me or my child to Celebi._

_ If it comes to that, I will run and take Abetzi and the child with me. Certainly, we can survive on our own, especially with Scary's help._

_ With all of the trees cleared out, we were finally able to plow and sow the new crop field. I showed Milo and the few other clan members who would listen to me how to implement a proper irrigation system. It was tiring work, but not nearly as bad as when we were cutting down and moving trees to form the clearing._

_ When I returned to the camp, Abetzi was foretelling a sick woman's death. The woman would die the day after the moon was next full from the sickness, Abetzi said. I don't know why Abetzi predicts these deaths. It was quite easy to see that the coughing woman would die of sickness without Abetzi's prediction and the predictions only make the camp fear and mistrust Abetzi more. Whenever I ask Abetzi, she hushes me and claims it is her Arceus-given ability to see death, a gift given to be used._

_ I don't know about this death-seeing gift. I'm simply satisfied to see my wife alive and breathing softly as I lay next to her. For hours tonight, under our fur covers we whispered names for our baby to each other. Abetzi hates the name Mel, short for Melvin or Melanie, saying its full of uncertainty. Personally, I don't see what's so bad about uncertainty; it brought me here next to her, after all._

_As we lay together now, the moonlight spills over Abetzi's body through the small breaks in the tent where the hide wasn't properly sewn together. She is so lovely, resting with one hand on her stomach over our future child. I could not have asked for a better life._

"That was a boring section," I told Scary.

{Mel, that was you in Abetzi's stomach.}

I wrinkled my nose. "Well, I'm glad I don't remember that."

Scary frowned. {The next section is a little more…} Scary didn't finish, but he was definitely going to say "exciting." I just knew it.

"Goody!"

_Day 458_

_ Everything's gone to shit—my life, Abetzi, Celebi—curse that fucking little green devil. Pieces, I've got pieces left. Pieces of memory and… and a son. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be writing this. I'd have jumped off one of Cape Caution's cliffs by now._

_ Arceaus, I pray this isn't real. It can't be real. Just ten hours ago I was lying next to Abetzi, listening to her slow breathing and gently pulling her closer to fend off the morning chill._

_ And then the fairy devil herself appeared in our tent._

_ {It's time,} Celebi said. {Get up.}_

_ I lifted my head groggily, at the time not understanding the danger. If only I had just put my head back down and fallen back asleep!_

_ {Hastings, up. Go wake Ahigetric. I will be waiting with your wife at the fire pit.}_

_ I slowly rolled out of the hide I'd been sharing with Abetzi, careful not to disturb her rest. I pulled a torn rag over my head, my most recent shirt. "Leave Abetzi out of this; she needs to rest," I whispered. "Come with me to wake Ahigetric."_

_ Celebi sighed. {Your insolence is duly noted. Unfortunately, Abetzi is needed. Don't fret, she won't be harmed.} Celebi waved a hand toward the tent flap. {Now get, before I decide you'd be more useful as an Aerodactyl's food morsel.}_

_ When I didn't move, Celebi waved her hand again. A vine sprouted from the ground, wrapped around my foot, and dragged me out of the tent into the dim early morning light. The vine released me, but waved threateningly in front of the tent._

_ Not seeing much of a choice, I walked through the campsite to Ahigetric's tent in the center. His tent was slightly bigger than the surrounding tents, and a Shiftry branch rose from the tent's top, resembling a mangled hand in the darkness. Not wanting to walk in on Ahigetric and whichever clan woman had chosen to sleep with him for the night, I released Scary from his PokeBall. "Bring Ahigetric out here, please. Dressed if possible."_

_ Scary rolled his eyes, but complied. Soon after, Ahigetric opened his tent's flap, his bright furs glittering under the final rays of moonlight. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked, or at least he asked something along those lines. My comprehension of the clan's language wasn't perfect. A more precise definition might be, "What has willed you to act?"_

_ "Celebi is here. The time has come," I said, gesturing to the fire pit behind me._

_ For a moment Ahigetric didn't react. Then he ordered, "Wake the warriors. This is the moment we've prepared for."_

_ No apology for his lack of respect for me over this past year. No emotion directed toward me at all, just a glint in his steel grey eyes as he looked past me at the fire pit, where I assumed Celebi was waiting._

_ I nodded at Scary and we proceeded to wake the "warriors," the group of men who'd trained for months with Ahigetric, several of whom trained with Celebi before the clan migrated to these woods. Because it was difficult to wake up the men without waking their wives, sisters, and children, soon the whole camp was gathered around the fire pit murmuring amongst themselves or shouting praise to Celebi._

_ The crowd quieted and Ahigetric spoke. "The day has come. Celebi has arrived and will lead us…" I found myself on the outskirts of the crowd, unable to see the fire pit._

_ "Scary," I called. The Gengar appeared beside me. "Clear away the crowd—"_

_ Ignoring my order, Scary took over my body, turning it intangible. We floated through the crowd to the fire pit. Ahigetric had tied his long blonde hair back and stood facing the clan with two Manectrics by his side. Abetzi stood behind him with Celebi sitting on her shoulder. She looked strangely pale and tired, holding both hands over her stomach. When I appeared next to Abetzi, the crowd gasped._

_ Ahigetric gave me a stone-faced glare before shouting, "Step forth, warriors! Today we avenge our burned fields! Today we will follow blessed Celebi and our death-mother Abetzi into battle and kill Mew!"_

_ I felt the blood drain from my face as the clan cheered._

_ I turned to Ahigetric. "Abetzi will not be following you into battle." The cheering was too loud for most of the crowd to hear me, but those closest to the fire pit quieted._

_ "No, Abetzi will be leading us," Ahigetric said sternly. His eyes were sharp as a blade, daring me to speak against him. He turned from me for a moment, facing the men around him. "Assemble the warriors on the west end of camp. Gather the spears," he ordered the men closest to the fire pit._

_ "She's _pregnant! _Why the hell would you have a pregnant woman lead your warriors?"_

_ Though most of the crowd was dispersing, a few of the men lingered._

_ "Go!" Ahigetric ordered them. "Do not repudiate my orders in front of my clan," he said in a low voice. "It is you who chose to wed the death-mother. Only she can see death in those that are immortal."_

_ {Basically,} Celebi said casually, leaning into Abetzi's golden hair. {she's needed to kill Mew.}_

_ Abetzi put a hand on my shoulder. "It is what is meant to be," she said. "I will be safe. I only need to watch the warriors."_

_ I shrugged Abetzi's hand away. "This is such bullshit. Death-mother? Are you talking about her death 'predictions'? Ahigetric, you of all people should know that it's phony—"_

_ Ahigetric punched my stomach, and I doubled over in pain. "You may not disrespect the death-mother."_

_ He turned to Abetzi. "I do not understand your choice in husband, but should he continue with this blatant disrespect of the way, he will be exiled or killed. Now come. Bring the ghost."_

_ Ahigetric left, the two Manectric followed him, their fur sparking._

_ Abetzi turned me to face her. "I need to borrow Scary. Do not fear. We will return shortly."_

_ "You don't have to do this."_

_ Abetzi stroked Celebi's head. I swear the little twit smirked at me a moment, before widening those innocent blue eyes and looking sullen. "I'm the death-mother."_

_ I'd never addressed her magical nonsense before—what was the harm in letting her believe she could foresee death? It gave Abetzi a place in the clan. At that moment though, I regretted not saying anything._

_ "I'm coming with you. Scary's my Pokemon anyway. And Frolikki must come as well, should you need help. You shouldn't strain yourself this late in the pregnancy."_

_ Abetzi nodded. It worried me that she didn't make a quip about Scary being my Pokemon. It's become a running joke between us, something to argue about over dinner._

_ Ahigetric and Abetzi led the warriors down the short twisted path to the burnt field, with Frolikki and I helping Abetzi over fallen tree trunks and across small springs. I watched Celebi out of the corner of my eye, wondering if the fairy was putting Abetzi in danger by just sitting on her shoulder._

_Soon, we came to the razed clearing. Bits of life were springing up again in the massive craters—weeds and vines mostly. If it weren't for the craters, the clan might've actually been able to re-plow the field. In couple of years, they still might be able to._

_Celebi fluttered above the twenty of us, directing Ahigetric and the warriors into a circle next to the largest crater in the clearing. Abetzi, Frolikki, and I watched from the edge of the clearing until Celebi turned its gaze to Abetzi. "Scary's needed now," Abetzi said._

_Frolikki fidgeted with the Manectric skin covering her shoulders, clearly uncomfortable. When I'd insisted she come with us, she'd only agreed after a stern look from Abetzi. With Celebi on her shoulder, nobody in the clan would dare defy Abetzi._

_I released Scary from his Pokeball. He floated to the center of the circle of warriors, mirroring his usual position when the clan captured a bear._

_It wasn't bear they'd be killing today._

_{Stand here, behind your wife,} Celebi said. I was more than happy to move behind my wife, hopeful that she'd lean on me and allow me to support her weight._

_Suddenly, Abetzi collapsed and screamed. "Abetzi! Abetzi! What is it?" She was breathing heavily. I glared at Celebi, now fluttering above us. "What did you do?"_

"_The baby," Abetzi panted. "The baby's—ahhh!"_

_Frolikki bent over and spoke swiftly to Abetzi. Then she had me move Abetzi so she was leaning against a boulder. Abetzi clutched my hand as I squatted next to her._

_Ahigetric was yelling something, but I paid him no mind. Suddenly, there was a flash of light to my left, where the circle of warriors stood._

_Mew and Celebi appeared in the center of the circle._

_My attention was torn between the legendary Pokemon and my poor Abetzi. Scary disappeared and the Mew's eyes glowed red. The Celebi in the circle disappeared._

_Abetzi and the warriors screamed in sync._

_{Look at the Mew, Abetzi!} Celebi yelled._

"_Don't you dare tell her what to do. Get away from my wife!" Without thinking I flung a rock by my legs at the fairy. Celebi dodged easily, fluttering in a spiral._

"_Breathe, Abetzi," I said, stroking her head._

_Abetzi squeezed her eyes open, gazing at the circle of warriors. I followed her gaze. The warriors' spears pierced through Mew's throat. Blood trickled down the Shiftry wood like streams of ants slowly crawling across a log. A blue fire emerged from the Mew's throat._

_I blinked._

_The ground shook, and the clearing's bits of strewn greenery burned, specks of red among the strange blue fire. Where the warriors and Ahigetric once stood, there were piles of ash. The Shiftry wood cluttered the area, completely unscathed._

_A purplish psychic barrier blinked out of existence. I hadn't noticed it was up, when it was put up, but now that it was gone, I could smell smoke._

_{So Abetzi…?}_

"_Too late, Celebi. You need—ahh!"_

"_Go away, fairy!" I yelled at the legendary Pokemon._

_Celebi had to have put up the barrier. At that moment though, I didn't give a damn that the fairy had just saved my wife. I just wanted Abetzi left in peace, wanted her to make it through childbirth. Wanted the damned fairy to disappear and stop badgering us._

_The next few hours were the toughest in my life. I ran between Abetzi and the spring, fetching the water Frolikki demanded by soaking my Manectric skins. Abetzi cried out and sweat and once broke out in hysterical laughter amidst the ash and the blue fire._

_I tried not to think about the incinerated clan members. There'd be time to think after our child was born._

_Finally, Frolikki had me sit by Abetzi's spread feet. The midwife urged Abetzi to be strong and several painful screams later, a bloody, lovely baby boy trembled in my hands._

_{Abetzi,} Celebi prompted._

"_Almost had it. Divide… divide the ashes, necessary… divide to conquer… to kill—"_

_There was a sudden whirring around me, like being squeezed into a box._

_A feeling I hadn't had in over a year._

_I was back in my apartment, in the kitchen among my dirty pans. It felt like an illusion. I was dressed in Manectric skins holding a bloody baby whose umbilical cord hung limply from his belly. Only seconds earlier he'd been attached to his mother. I thought stupidly, where's Abetzi?_

_Celebi fluttered in front of me._

_{You'll be wanting this.} The fairy casually tossed a Pokeball at me. Scary's Pokeball. I couldn't remember Celebi touching it, I couldn't remember what happened to Scary after Mew exploded…_

"_Bring me back. Bring Abetzi here," I demanded._

_{Welcome home.} The Celebi winked out of existence._

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I walked toward the gym exit, with Apple trotting at my side. Liam followed us. {We're screwed, Apple. We're beyond screwed—I'm going to die painfully when Liam squeezes the information out of me with some medieval torture device he'll have bought off that creepy sales guy, who I think might be following us—}

{Whoa, creepy sales guy. You don't say.}

{Apple, I'm serious! I can't lie—}

{Yeah, well you're going to have to so suck it up—}

I turned to Apple, who was balancing on a metal beam that had fallen some time during my fight with Dustin and Tali. {I suck at lying, Apple! You're always telling me I can't lie for my life and now our lives are at stake!}

{Well, you got us into this. If you weren't prepared to lie, you shouldn't have promised Liam info in exchange for helping you beat the twins.} Apple jumped off of the beam and wagged her tail at me, not bothering to look back.

{Oh no, you don't! You're not going to put this all on me, Apple. We made the decision to stay with Erin and pretend everything was perfectly la-dee-da together. Just because I took advantage of the situation—}

{It'd only be an advantage if you'd actually prepared a lie.}

We reached the revolving doors. {Sometimes I understand why Liam wants to mangle you…} I pushed the door. It didn't budge.

"What the…?" A Slaking was slumped between the glass doors, preventing the doors from moving. I tapped on the glass. "Hey!" The Slaking didn't move.

Suddenly, an Aipom dropped from the top of the doorway, hanging by its from the low ceiling above the revolving doors. I stumbled backwards in surprise, tripped over a piece of crumbled tile, and fell on my butt next to where Liam was standing.

Liam looked down at me and raised an eyebrow.

"You could've stopped me from falling," I muttered, picking myself up. I marched back to the Aipom and pointed my finger at in the Pokemon's face, but not too close. My neighbor once had an Aipom that bit. "Now just what do you think you're doing? And what's with the Slaking?"

The Aipom swung back and forth, giggling. {Why is this trainer asking me? It's not like she can understand. We just have to wait until she tries to leave to attack—}

"What do you mean attack?" I asked, alarmed.

{You can understand me?}

{Yes.} I made my voice boom in the Aipom's head. {I'm a psychic. Now get your lazy friend out of the doorway before I get mad and blow you to bits with my mad psychic abilities.}

Apple snickered and didn't even flinch.

{Sorry, we have strict orders to not let you leave until you clean up the gym, and even then, only if we get a call saying Dustin won't be making it back to the gym today. Hmm, well, that explains why Dustin left Visio.}

{Who's—}

Something wet wrapped around my arm. A wet, red tongue. With my eyes, I traced the tongue back to its user. A Kecleon gapped at me. Standing next to the Kecleon was Dustin's Zangoose, who'd cut Apple's fur. For some reason the Zangoose kept hitting the Kecleon over the head with his claw.

"Okay, now I'm really confused."

"It's quite simple," Liam drawled. Asshole. "Clearly, these Pokemon are preventing us from exiting the gym. Dustin's Zangoose is hitting Kecleon with a pursuit attack to change Kecleon's type to dark and in turn, prevent you from using your psychic gift."

He deduced _that_ fromthis? "Well, don't just stand there. Attack! Apple, use iron tail! And Liam, uh, kick them or something."

Liam looked at me like something was sprouting from my head. "I'm not a Pokemon."

Apple lunged. The Kecleon's tongue wrapped around me and I was suddenly spinning, the Kecleon pulling me. I hit the Pokemon's body with a thud, wrapped in several slimy layers of tongue. Gross.

Apple halted her attack, her tail lit and poised above her head, ready to strike, but unable to do so without hitting me.

"Let me go," I demanded, trying to wriggle free.

Liam looked from Apple to me to the door blocked by the Slaking impassively. He nodded. "We'll clean up."

The glow in Apple's tail faded. "Hey, no we won't! This is Snubull crap—"

I was spinning again and heard the Aipom screeching something. Then I found myself flung on the floor, dizzy. I got to my feet unsteadily.

My pack hung from the tip of the Kecleon's tongue.

{So, you'll clean up or else Visio here will eat your pack and Pokeballs,} the Aipom said, waving a hand at me. Maybe I could smash his purple head into the ceiling with a barrier or hack off a few fingers—

{Anita, that'd be a bad idea,} Apple said. {I'm with Liam. You guys should clean up the gym.}

{I wouldn't really hurt him… And you only want us to clean 'cause you won't have to do anything with your lack of opposable thumbs.} I swiveled around, turning my back on Dustin's Pokemon. I bent over to pick up a piece of floor dislodged sometime during the battle. I paused as my fingers skimmed the smooth ceramic surface. {You know, Splash is still in the ventilation system. With his help, we could probably take on these guys—}

{So you're willing to sacrifice our plan to survive—your plan to ensure I live—to get out of cleaning.} Apple actually sounded upset.

{No. I mean, that's not how it is. It's…} I picked up the displaced floor piece. {See, I'm cleaning.}

{Good.}

I returned the floor chunk to the hole it'd been initially dislodged from. The piece fit into the floor, but there were small chunks missing around the piece's edges and the cracks surrounding the piece clearly weren't going to go away. Nothing we could do about that. I tried to recall when the floor had broken during the battle, but couldn't. "This is pointless," I muttered. My stomach growled.

Liam and I worked in silence, replacing floor pieces and repairing the bleachers. Dustin's Zangoose showed us the cabinet full of screws, bolts, nails, hammers—all sorts of supplies were offered, though Dustin's Pokemon never offered to actually help. Bums.

I eyed Liam from time to time, surprised he was going along with the cleanup and even more surprised he hadn't taken the opportunity to interrogate me. At least it gave me time to think.

I could probably get away with telling half-truths for now. I didn't really know how much Liam knew—enough to suspect my Pokemon, but not enough to just try to take them already? Then there was what Celebi had told Apple, that she was being tracked… but who knew if that was true. Just in case, half-truths would work best. Plus anything unanswered, I could say I'd tell him after the battle, and hopefully after the battle, this whole mess would be sorted out.

"Anita."

I almost hit my thumb with the hammer. I looked up from the bleacher support beam I'd been trying to unbend.

Liam had pushed the platform Dustin and Tali typically stood on back, revealing a staircase leading downwards. I didn't remember _that_ being there when I looked through the blueprints of gym.

"Hungry? There's food down here." Liam gestured to the staircase.

{Why is Liam being nice?} I asked Apple suspiciously.

{Well, either an alien ate his brain or he wants to question you away from Dustin's surveillance system.} Apple pointed her tail at Dustin's Zangoose, who was going at Kecleon's head with scissors and a comb, possibly trying to cut the spikes on Kecleon's head into a mohawk.

{Some surveillance.} I nodded to Liam. "Yeah, but you're paying. My money's in my pack."

I put down the hammer on the bleachers and followed Liam down the stairs, Apple trotting behind me. How did Liam know there was a staircase under the platform anyway?

The basement was a small room with a table that sat four, a vending machine, and a bar. The room's floor and walls was covered in fuzzy white carpeting that made me want to take my shoes off and rub my toes in. "Fancy," I said.

Apple rubbed her face against one of the carpeted walls. {Mmmm, fuzzy.} She peeked an eye open at me. {You sure you want me around. I mean, look at this romantic tone and you've already got him paying for food…}

{I don't know how you can make sick jokes like that at a time like this, Apple. And, not that I would ever date Liam, but if I were to go on any freakin' date I'd pay for my own freakin' food.}

{Unless your pack was dangling from the tongue of a Kecleon with a Mohawk.}

I must've had a weird look on my face because Liam was looking at me oddly. "What?" I snapped.

Liam walked around the bar and bent down. "I don't see a surveillance system, but your discretion would be appreciated as a precaution," he said. I leaned over the bar counter and saw he was looking through a mini-fridge.

"Whatever."

Liam plopped two sandwiches on the counter.

"What's in those?" I asked.

"Vegetables. Maybe cheese. Tali's a vegetarian."

"How'd you know about this place?"

Liam shrugged, picked up his sandwich, and walked around the bar counter. He sat down at the small wooden table. I joined him, taking a bite of my sandwich before I even reached the table. It tasted better than it probably was because I was hungry. "So yesterday you mentioned finding her in Melonbi Town," Liam said.

I took another large bite of my sandwich, annoyed. He never answered my questions, but I always had to answer his. So not fair. I swallowed. "Yup. That's where I first encountered… her."

"And when was this?"

"My birthday. July 2nd."

"Describe the encounter."

I looked around the room, looking for the invisible surveillance Liam was worried about. How the hell was I supposed to tell him about Mew without actually describing Mew?

"Well, I saw her about halfway to Azul City. She looked kinda like a Whooper at first…" Was that discrete enough?

"Did she say anything to you?"

I remembered Apple complaining about the rain. "Complained about the weather." Liam was looking at me expectantly. Guess I needed something better than that. What else did we talk about? "And she asked about Team Glop'emm."

"What about Team Glop'emm?"

"Can't say that here. That's all you're getting for now. I need something to make you battle with me besides whatever secret Dustin's holding over your head," I said, remembering Dustin's words when Liam seemed unwilling to partner up with me.

Liam snickered dismissively.

"If that secret's so not important to you, then tell me."

"That'd be no fun." Liam chewed thoughtfully. "Have you had any more encounters with her?"

"I'm not telling you anything else until after the battle."

"You've told me virtually nothing I didn't already know. Any more encounters?" Liam demanded.

"Not while looking like… her," I said carefully. I'd already told Liam I was involved with Mew. "Sometimes I run errands for her that she can't accomplish herself." Like paying for hotdogs. "But that's all your getting for now, got it? I don't need you running off to find and kill Mew before we battle Dustin and Tali." Damn, the way I said that sounded cruel, like I cared nothing about what happened to Mew.

{And that's a good thing,} Apple said. Liam frowned at me, as I gave Apple half of my sandwich.

"Alright," he agreed. "We can leave it at that until after the battle."

I felt uneasy. Was he convinced?

We ate the rest of the meal in silence.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Jamie Arkle, meet your new cellmate." Damned officers. Damned gym leaders. I was so close, and then that shithead Normal gym leader arrested me. Oh, and let's not forget _Liam Mendol_, the little _genius_ Master running circles around the psychic girl. Mendol had something to do with my arrest, I just knew it. I shouldn't have gloated to his uncle. No, I couldn't afford to underestimate the kid again—tattling to the other gym leaders like that, what a coward.

The metal door groaned as my jail cell was opened. I sat up on my stiff bed as a man was shoved forward into the cell and the door was slammed shut behind him.

The man had a body of a forty year old, but a face that could have been twenty years older. He was balding, but the grey hair he had was long and scraggly. If it weren't for his large bifocal glasses, I'd have guessed he was some hobo snatched off the streets.

I could break his glasses and use the sharp edge to cut his face up. How would the officers react?

"Was never told about this…" the man mumbled, tugging at the sleeves of the plain grey jumpsuit provided for prisoners. He blinked at me with wide, grey eyes, as if startled I was in the cell with him. "Who are you?"

"Jamie Arkle, arrested for being the Master of Team Glop'emm. And you?"

"Bert Hastings… Seth Hastings, who knows any more?" Hastings looked around the cell. "I don't suppose they provide pencils and paper?"

"Bored already?" I'm sure if he asked the guard, they'd give it to him. Pencils, those had some real possibilities. Stab out an eye or pierce a finger. "What were you arrested for?" I asked.

"I need to keep writing poems. She said I'd get my son back if I kept writing." Ah, so we had an incorrectly sorted prisoner. This one belonged in the loony bin. Hastings looked under the second bed in the cell and then sat down on it. "I am suspected of abusing and knowing where to locate Liam Mendol."

That stopped me in my tracks. He knew Mendol? And had possibly _abused _him? He might be my new hero. "So did you do it?"

"I've only met Liam once, many years ago, or maybe not so many. It's hard to say."

"Tell me what you know of Mendol."

"Oh, it's hard to say how much I may—for she'll punish me without delay." The man grinned widely. "Now there's a useless poem. Most are though. Useless, I mean. None ever brought my son back, or sent my sweet Abetzi to me."

Nonsense again. "Tell me what you know of Mendol or I'll tear that big nose off your face and stuff it—"

"You're quite excitable, aren't you? Yes, the Mendols aren't affected by psychics, that much I can say."

"You know about the gift?"

"No, I studied ancient Pokemon." Would killing this fool increase security around my cell? The man looked me up and down, as if weighing something in his mind. "I suppose it could be considered a gift, a gift given by the earliest Pokemon, perhaps. Or maybe just good blood. I studied his blood, you know, down to the very DNA. There's technology for that today."

"Mendol's blood?"

"Of course."

Though clearly insane, the man seemed educated enough. Perhaps he was once a scientist. Knowledge of Mendol's blood and ancient Pokemon could be useful… "I guess you'll have to come with me," I said, lying back down.

"Come with you? Where?"

"Well, I certainly don't intend to stay here. Now, neither do you."


	44. Act Two: Through

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hey guys! Once again, I am late... :( Trying to get a job for the summer... But all of you guys rock! I got more reviews in a month's span than any month previously. Thank you so much!

OBR- Sorry you were sick. I totally hate it, too. Glad Liam, Anita, and Apple could cheer you up.

Montimer S- I have a horrible habit of making terrible Pokemon puns and this is more or less my outlet. Glad you enjoyed that one! Sorry this kind of jumps around, but ah well. Liam doesn't want to do anything that might endanger the information he suspects he can extract from Anita. He's much more willing to compromise and wait than, for instance, Jamie. About the explosion... that happened- "_Where the warriors and Ahigetric once stood, there were piles of ash." _Though it wasn't very clear, Celebi protected them from the damage. I didn't make a big deal about the explosion because Hastings would be more focused on Abetzi and the baby. You'll have to wait and see about Styx. :) And finally, the psychotic killer is Jamie, though I suppose the "killer" part is definitely debatable. Yup, I like math sooo I'm an engineering major. If you like math, seriously consider engineering! Ok, done advertising that...

ChaosAngel4us- Yeah... so much for updating...grr at myself. But, yup, legionaries are pretty contriver.

Glaceon4us- Yeah, I went a bit without updating. :( However, if you're having trouble remembering, check out the AMAZING website my editor made for me: http:/sites (dot) google (dot) com/site/fieryapple/info It has character bios and brief chapter summaries.

Last Warrior- Yup, it is no secret that Apple likes Fiery. Nice clue finding on Fiery's return of her affections. :) You'll have to wait and see what happens with that. Interesting predictions. Though a semi-climax is coming up, it will be the first of many. And thank you! It's seriously an honor to have written someone's favorite fanfiction. :) Made my day.

EeveeInHeart- I love plot twists, too. A story's no fun if it's totally predictable. Thanks!

All of you- my readers, my reviewers, my editor- you're so awesome. I always look forward to revising and posting my chapters. Thank you so much for keeping me writing.

I apologize in advance for the end of this chapter. I swear, I'll do my best to get the next one out soon (early next month latest).

_Previously on An Apple a Day:_

Styx hires Erin to research Celebi.

Anita and Liam beat the Artemis Town prelim. Dustin is hurt and has to go to the hospital. He brings his posse. Dustin leaves his Pokemon behind to ensure Anita and Liam don't leave as well as make them clean up the damage done to the gym during the prelim.

Mel and Scary continue to read Professor Hastings' (Mel's father) journal:

_Professor Hastings was taken back in time 15,000 years by Celebi. Hastings comes across a clan of people who worship Celebi who call themselves the Shiftry Clan. The clan uses a Gengar to immobilize a bear so it can be killed. Professor Hastings fights and catches the Gengar (Scary). The clan's "witch," Abetzi, is able to communicate to Hastings through Scary that the clan's land has been destroyed multiple times by Mew. The clan takes Professor Hastings' arrival as a sign that the clan will soon get their revenge for Mew's destruction._

_Over a year later, Hastings has fallen in love with Abetzi, and she's pregnant. Abetzi, ghost-gifted, has the ability to see how living creatures can be killed. Celebi has her watch the clan's attempt to kill Mew as she gives birth to a baby. Hastings hears her say, "Divide the ashes, necessary… to kill—" _

_Celebi takes Hastings and the baby back to Hastings' present._

Meanwhile, in present day, Seth Hastings has been put in the same jail cell as Jamie Arkle, the assistant to the Master. Hastings is suspected of child abuse and withholding information about the whereabouts of Liam Mendol. Jamie plans to escape with Hastings.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 41: (Act 2) Through

I dialed Erin's number for about the twentieth time. Voicemail. I left a message again. "Erin, it's Anita. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break Liam's syringe, and when he attacked me, I freaked out. I was still pretty freaked out when you visited, and I said some stuff I didn't mean. Please call me back." I hung up and glared at Liam, who lounged in the bleachers beside me. "This is your fault."

Liam looked at me coolly. "You broke the syringe."

"I didn't mean to."

"That has yet to be proved."

I checked my watch. Almost eight p.m. Seriously, why couldn't Dustin's Pokemon let us leave? We'd finished cleaning the gym hours ago; everything was back in place, though the floor remained cracked as we had no way of repairing it. This was getting ridiculous. Clearly Dustin wasn't returning—

"We're back!" Dustin called. I looked up. Dustin hobbled through the revolving doors on crutches, his left leg in a cast up to his thigh. His entourage followed him—Tali, Styx, his Pokemon guarding the door, and… Jake? "I hope you two are prepared to be lose," he said, returning all of his Pokemon to their Pokeballs. When Dustin's Kecleon disappeared, my pack fell to the ground with a loud thump.

{It's late. Our plans will have to change a little,} I told Apple.

{Doesn't matter. This is it.}

Jake strode over to me, holding out his hand. "Good luck."

Remembering his habit of kissing hands, I didn't take his. "Have you seen Erin?" I asked.

Jake sat down on the bench. "No. And I wanted her to be my partner, too. I was hoping she'd be here."

Apple hopped onto my shoulder and I stood up, turning to Liam. "Ready?"

Liam rose. "I don't have the Ditto," he said, gesturing to the lack of Pokeballs on his belt. Right. The Pokemon Center nurses had taken them all for safekeeping after he was knocked unconscious. It was kind of sad that he hadn't said anything about them—if I woke up in a different place than I'd fallen asleep, my Pokemon would be my first worry. What had happened to make him not care?

Styx tossed a PokeBall to Liam. She had a bandage around her arm as well. "That's Sticky," she said, heading to battlefield sidelines. Guess she was reffing again.

Liam nodded. We walked to the side of the battlefield closest to the revolving doors.

Dustin stood in the center of the arena, resting on his crutches. "Heh, you guys didn't do a half-bad job. Course' I'll probably still have to replace half the floor."

"Come on, Dustin." Tali pushed Dustin lightly. "Let's do this, and then you're going straight to bed. You shouldn't even be battling." An Eevee hung from each of Tali's shoulders, sticking their tongues out at Apple when they thought nobody was looking. Apple was too preoccupied examining the gym floor to notice.

I sent my mind out to Splash and found him asleep in the vent behind the bleachers. {Splash! Get up!}

{Huh?} Splash yawned and stretched. {Can I leave now? There's a couple of mushrooms that smelled kinda cool right outside—}

{Not yet. Remember what you have to do?}

{Yeah, yeah. Just tell me when.}

I noticed my pack was still laying on the ground a fourth of the way across the battlefield and nearly smacked my head for not remembering it. I quickly ran over to it, Apple only steps behind. I reached in the pack and untied a pouch, then picked up my pack from the wrong side so it was upside down.

A light powder sprinkled over Apple. The bright powder Sparky had given to me. I controlled the flow of the powder psychically, keeping the sprinkle over Apple sparse and invisible to the eye. I walked a little ways with the pack slung over my shoulder, Apple walking with me to stay below the powder. When the pouch in my pack was empty, I tossed my pack into the bleachers. Apple and I returned to our positions next to Liam.

Styx announced, "This will be a two on two Pokemon battle. A Pokemon stepping outside the metal boundaries of the battlefield is equivalent to a Pokemon fainting. A team of two wins when both Pokemon of the opposing team are eliminated. Trainers may not affect opposing Pokemon."

"What's that mean?" I asked Liam.

"You can't use your gift to attack their Pokemon. For instance, you may not flood their minds with confusing images."

"But I can use telepathy?"

"Yes, but so can Dustin."

"What if I made a barrier for Apple to jump off of onto their Pokemon?"

"That would qualify as affecting the opposing Pokemon, as it has implemented Apple to have a physical advantage over her opponent she would not normally have."

"Sounds like you've done this before," I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Or I've actually paged through a gym leader database at some point in my life," Liam replied.

"Hey!" Dustin yelled. "You twits ready to stop chit-chatting, and start fighting?"

"Sorry, not all of us have to go to bed early!" I yelled back.

"I have a broken leg, give me a break! Doctor's orders."

"You're so _lame_. Get it, lame?"

Apple put a paw over her face. {Anita… oy.}

Styx grimaced. "One further reminder before we begin," she said. "You must abide by all nationwide battle regulations; including regulation thirty-six section four that states Dittos may only transform into a Pokemon present on the battlefield. Are all teams ready?"

Dustin, Tali, Liam, and I all nodded.

"Begin!"

{Okay, Apple, let me know when you're ready.}

{Roger.} Apple leapt off of my shoulder while Liam released Sticky, the Ditto I'd seen him test the Forced Transformation Device on.

"Ray," Dustin yelled.

"Cassie," Tali said. Both Eevees jumped off of Tali's shoulders, taking off towards Sticky and Apple as soon as their paws touched the ground.

As the only Pokemon released by a PokeBall and the only Pokemon having to transform, Sticky got a late start. I needed to buy Sticky some time. While my main goal in this battle wasn't winning, it'd still be nice. {Attract,} I ordered.

One of the Eevees stopped charging, looking at Apple as if her fur had changed to gold. {So beautiful.}

The other Eevee kept charging, making to dodge around Apple and hit Sticky. Apple matched the Eevee's quick attack, knocking the Eevee aside before Sticky was harmed.

The hit Eevee leapt backwards. {Cassie, snap out of it.}

Cassie. That was Tali's Eevee—a female. {Apple, use attract again on Dustin's Eevee, Ray. We can get them both!}

Ray charged at Apple, smirking. Apple was headbutted before she had time to move out of the way. {I don't like _girls_,} Ray said.

Cassie managed to drag her eyes away from Apple, frowning at Ray. {But she's so pretty—} Cassie shook her head. I suspected Dustin was psychically forcing back the attraction.

"Take Down," Liam ordered Sticky, now fully transformed. He was the only one on the field ordering attacks aloud, a severe disadvantage if you asked me. We'd talked about it briefly, and he was completely unwilling to let my "inane mind" wander anywhere near his precious brain again. "Anita, if you'd like to win this battle, I suggest focusing on the Pokemon that can actually attack."

Excuse me, I was well aware of what Ray was up to, but Apple had been hit hard. Arceaus forbid she should be given a second or two to recover.

Apple struggled to her feet as Sticky and Ray charged at each other. {You okay?}

{He didn't hit me hard enough. I wanted to reach the boundary line…}

{So try again. Cassie's closer to the boundary. Go for her. And don't faint on me. Seriously, that would ruin everything.}

Apple smirked, lowered her head, and ran at Cassie, racing around Sticky.

"Your tail, Sticky," Liam said. Sticky's tail lit up moments before the Ditto clashed with Ray. I realized with a start that if Sticky was using iron tail, she had likely picked Apple to transform into. It gave me a proud bubbly feeling in my stomach.

I thought Liam wanted Sticky to hit Ray twice—once with the Take Down and once with an Iron Tail. To my surprise, however, Sticky dug her tail into the ground. Using her tail as a pivot, Sticky faced Ray belly-up and turned his own momentum against him, throwing the Eevee through the air.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Apple make contact with Cassie. Cassie took the hit, but used Apple's attack to launch herself at Ray to prevent the Eevee from being flung out of bounds.

Apple was kicked backwards with an oomph. She rolled twice, landing on the metal boundary.

Perfect.

{Ready,} Apple said, still lying on the ground.

I pulled my psychic powers in, tight against my chest and then moved a single strand out, fully encapsulating Apple. This was my attempt at being discrete. I was banking on Dustin being too caught up in the battle to notice what I was doing.

Ray and Cassie had landed on the battlefield. Cassie stood over Ray protectively, releasing a guttural howl before Sticky could even prepare to charge. Echoed Voice, maybe. Or perhaps Round. These obnoxiously loud attacks were all hard to tell apart.

Whatever the case, this was my opportunity. I located Splash in the vent behind the stands. {Thundershock,} I ordered.

The metal that created the gym's borders were conductive. In fractions of milliseconds, the shock had reached Apple.

The bright powder sprinkled on Apple's fur lit up brilliantly. She was hard to look at. Ray, Cassie, and Sticky halted their attacks. I was surprised when Liam didn't order Sticky to keep at it, instead watching Apple with unblinking eyes.

Splash would keep up the electricity until I ordered it him to stop. This was the tricky part. I flexed the psychic outline of Apple, tightening it into a sort of barrier—a barrier holding the bright powder particles shaped like an Eevee. My practice moving dust and glass particles would pay off now.

I first enlarged the Eevee semblance, giving Apple room to transform within the glowing façade.

A strand of my mind was linked to Apple's. Although she was only transformed into her original form for an iota of time, I felt it like a waterfall hitting my skin. As Mew, her powers were amplified. My bright barrier prevented most of this power from escaping. I watched Dustin carefully, looking for any signs he'd picked up on the psychic disturbance. Dustin wasn't even looking at Apple though; he was whispering something to Tali.

I tugged at my barrier, pulling the tiny particles into their precise locations as Apple transformed once again. In my attempt to give Apple enough room to transform, I'd enlarged my barrier-Eevee too much so as I altered the barrier's form, I had to shrink it down some. Luckily, the bright light made the enlargement significantly less noticeable.

When Apple neared full transformation, my barrier grazed her fur and immediately disappeared. {Stop,} I ordered Splash. {Meet me behind the Pokemon Center in an hour.}

I felt Splash's agreement and turned my attention back to the battlefield.

Apple stretched her front paws out, her sleek fur shimmering in the light. She was showing off her new form.

Umbreon.

A sudden pride floated in my chest as I peeked at Liam. It had been Apple's idea—she knew from experience a transformed Pokemon was incapable of evolving. If Liam had created a device that could untransform Pokemon, surely he had done his research and knew this to be true. He could no longer suspect Apple of being Mew; with his own eyes, he'd seen Apple evolve.

It was strange, not being able to feel Apple immediately. Apple opened her mind, and I knew we could speak telekinetically, but not being able to sense her presence would take some getting used to.

{Too bad Dustin didn't come back earlier,} Apple said wistfully. {I could've been an Espeon and trashed these little Eevees with a mere thought.}

{Yeah, well, I can 'teach' you psychic at some point, and no one will be able to complain about you telekinetically bouncing other Pokemon about,} I said. {In the meantime, how about trying out some of that dark power you've inherited. Faint attack Ray.}

Apple disappeared from view. When Cassie and Ray didn't respond, I called, "What, we're still battling, right?"

"It's rude to attack when a Pokemon's evolving," Tali said.

Liam snorted. "Their Eevees know the attack, Wish. They've been recovering." Wow, Liam was sharing useful information with me. Must be some kind of record. "Sticky, transform into Umbreon."

"Oh, no problem, Liam. I'll deal with the opponent while your Pokemon takes its jolly old time to transform."

Apple appeared behind Ray and Cassie, who were standing side by side, perhaps trying to glare Apple and Sticky into fainting. Apple closed in—

And missed? Faint attack never missed.

"Sticky, move half a meter to your left," Liam ordered to the half-transformed Ditto. "Iron tail."

Sticky moved as commanded and suddenly, Ray erupted from the ground Sticky had just been standing on. Barely transformed, Sticky swirled her tail around and struck Ray across his belly.

"It was a double team illusion," Liam explained. "Cassie and Ray dug underground, but most of the battlefield is too dense for Dig to break through the surface. They can only come up where—"

"The surface of the field is cracked. I'm not a moron—"

{Ahhh! Uh, Anita. I'm in a hole.}

{Then get out! You know Dig.}

I felt a jolt as Apple was tossed out of the hole. She landed beside the hole on her back, and rolled over just before Cassie landed leapt atop of her. However, instead of pursuing Apple head on as I expected, Cassie jumped over Apple and sped her way to the center of the battlefield.

Though I thought Ray was at least a bit hurt from Sticky's attack, he also got right up and next to Cassie.

"What are they doing?" Irritably, I said, "If you'd open up your mind we could discuss this faster."

Liam ignored my comment. I put up a barrier to prevent Dustin and Tali from listening in. "They've finished assessing our battle skills and have concluded the optimum way to defeat us is to knock our Pokemon out with a single blow—Eevees have less stamina than Umbreons."

"Okay, but—"

Liam interrupted, "Order Sticky and Apple into the hole psychically." I ordered Apple, and told her to tell Sticky. I couldn't seem to connect with Sticty while she was an Umbreon—apparently, she didn't seem to know how to open up her mind while transformed into a dark Pokemon. Liam continued, "One of the Eevees will use helping hand to boost the other's power. The other Eevee—probably Ray, judging from the higher variety of attacks he's used—will attack with last resort."

"What last resort?"

"The _attack_ last resort. There's a high probability that Dustin and Tali will utilize double team to confuse our Pokemon. With Sticky and Apple underground, there are only two directions from which Ray can attack."

On the battlefield, several pairs of Eevees did indeed appear.

"But if Sticky and Apple are underground, that means the attack will for sure hit."

"Sticky is certainly capable of taking hits," Liam said haughtily. "Did I make the incorrect assumption Apple is as well?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_Order #25 for Marcus Ingblot. _I peeled the sticker off of the wrapper and it stuck to my fingers. I rolled my fingers until the adhesive on the sticker made the ink forming my name unreadable. I wiped my hand on the underside of my armchair and unwrapped my cheeseburger, letting the thick meaty smell waft over the fancy keyboard in front of me. The room usually smelled sterile—this was more pleasant.

I leaned back in my swiveling chair and glanced at the giant screen above the keyboard. The screen was showing its "normal" display, which meant it flickered through a series of images including a map of Acceber, a list of people and Pokemon, and a bunch of statistics I couldn't begin to guess the meaning of.

You'd think if Team Glop'emm could afford this fancy-shmancy tracking computer, us lackeys who did the real work would be paid better. I'd been working for Team Glop'emm since my mother kicked me out of the house and then kicked the bucket, leaving her life savings to a charity for homeless children. If I could talk to the dead, I'd ask her why she didn't leave her life savings to a charity for her homeless son.

So I was forced to live by the measly wage provided to all Team Glop'emm lackeys. Well, I was better off than _some_ lackeys. I knew people in high places. People who paid me something a little more than the typical wage for sitting by this lousy computer and frying the hard drive if something funky came up on the screen—

The computer beeped loudly. Something funky came up on the screen. A funky green dot.

Guess I had a hard drive to fry.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Arrogant asshole.

Liam was willing to let Sticky or Apple just take a hit from a ridiculously powerful attack. Well, that wouldn't happen on my watch.

{Apple, Dustin and Tali don't know you can use dig so this'll only work once. Dig a hole from the center of theirs, and curve around to dig just below their hole, close enough to their hole that it'll collapse when an Eevee comes rampaging through to attack you,} I ordered Apple.

{On it.}

"So what's the advantage of purposely trapping our Pokemon in a hole and allowing them to get hit?" I asked.

"While Dustin appears adept at using his borrowed psychic gift, and indeed has enough natural power to make his psychic prowess a true threat, in reality he has little experience. He's only battled with this psychic gift against Tamara Lilac, and is unlikely to consider the repercussions of relying on telepathy when battling against two dark Pokemon."

"So we're cutting off the Eevees' communication with their trainers. You could've just said that to begin with."

The pairs of Eevees danced around the field. I supposed I could probably locate the real pair psychically, but it didn't matter; we knew what was coming.

{Alright, Apple. Liam snotty-pants here has a good point. Once the ground collapses beneath Ray, make sure you stay in physical contact with him. You should be able to outlast an Eevee—bite down, use iron tail, do whatever it takes to make your opponent faint while holding onto the little fur-ball.} I contemplated telling Sticky to do the same, but if the hole didn't collapse for some reason, it would ensure that Ray ran into one of the Umbreons, and Liam _did_ say Sticky was capable of taking the hit…

{And make sure to tell Sticky to stay in physical contact, too,} I said, settling into Apple's mind as she waited. Just as Apple barked the orders to Sticky, Ray crashed through the ceiling of her hole, flailing. While Ray was cornered, Apple barraged with a series of iron tails.

Minutes later, she climbed out of the hole carrying an unconscious Ray by the scruff of his neck.

Styx looked at the field uneasily. Perhaps she was unsure if she should declare us the winners.

"Where's Cassie?" Tali asked. Dustin muttered something about stupid, unreliable psychic powers. I didn't say anything, but looked at Liam. He frowned, watching the hole Apple had climbed out of.

"Cassie!" Tali yelled. Ouch.

I put a finger in my ear in a futile attempt to stop the ringing.

{Geeze, tell the woman to pipe down,} Apple said, dropping Ray. {Sticky and Cassie are both unconscious down there.}

"Apple says both Sticky and Cassie are knocked out," I related. It was another ten minutes before Apple tiredly dragged the other two Pokemon out of the hole and Styx declared Liam and me the winners.

Dustin wobbled over to us while Tali released Dustin's Zangoose to carry Ray and Cassie to the Pokemon Center.

Before Dustin reached me and Liam, Jake came up behind us, putting an arm around each of our shoulders. "Exsighting battle, guys. Did you hear me cheering?"

Liam removed Jake's arm robotically, not showing the display of disgust I was expecting. He stared blankly at Sticky for several moments before returning her to a PokeBall.

I ducked under Jake's arm. "Didn't hear anything. Actually, I forgot you were here."

{Or, alternatively, our ears are still ringing from Tali's yelling,} Apple said. {I don't know how any of you can actually hear clearly after that.}

"Listen up, pipsqueaks," Dustin said, pointing a crutch in our direction. "It's been a great honor battling you, yadda yadda, you've inherited a great responsibility, yadda yadda, learned something about teamwork, yadda, and I now present you with the standard badge."

Dustin's Aipom climbed up over Dustin's shoulder and around his extended crutch. When had Dustin let that guy out? The Aipom waved his tail at us, showing two shiny disks in his tail… palm. Abruptly, he whipped his tail around, sending the disks speeding our way.

I winced as a disk hit my shoulder and fell to the ground.

Liam, of course, caught his.

I bent over and picked up the badge. {It looks like a miniature CD. I bet if you play it, you'll hear Tali's horrible yelling,} Apple commented.

I turned to Liam smugly. "You know, we wouldn't have these if I had listened to you and allowed Apple to take Ray's hit. Then both of our Pokemon would've been knocked out."

Jake peered over Liam's shoulder excitedly. "You know Liam, you're not really collecting badges. If you don't need that one…"

Liam dropped the badge and crushed it with his foot. He spun around and walked silently out of the gym.

Jake's eye twitched.

{Well, I call this a successful day,} Apple said. {You won a badge by one-upping Liam, I "evolved" into Umbreon, Liam can no longer suspect me being Mew, and Jake's been left heartbroken.}

I nodded, allowing myself a small smile. {Only one thing could make it better. Making up with Erin.}

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_Due to the nature of Celebi's abilities, it is unknown whether there exist multiple Celebi or a single being. Professor Joshua Feldman speculates…_

I yawned. I'd already browsed three books with similar opinion based speculation. I turned the page.

_Typically, a green flash of light accompanies Celebi's appearance or disappearance from one space-time realm to another—_

Really? That's what they were calling the present now? _Space-time realm? _

I closed the book and put it on the shelf. I looked at my watch.

Crap, almost two in the morning.

Guess time flies when you're researching time traveling Pokemon. Anita would be done with her gym battle…

I felt a little guilty for missing it. But I was supposed to be mad at her. Ugh, why was it so difficult to stay mad at a friend? Every time I thought back on our conversation in the hospital room, somehow I ended up thinking her reactions were understandable. I shook my head. I'd talk to her tomorrow.

I got up, tucking the most promising book under my arm. I checked the book out on one of the self check out machines; the librarian was asleep at the front desk, drooling over a thick book.

Outside, I contemplated releasing Griffy and riding back to the Pokemon Center, but it was a nice summer night. Plus, the streets of Artemis Town were watched over by a team of Noctowls put together by the gym leader and his sister; it was safe to walk.

Celebi. I wondered why Styx was interested in the legendary Pokemon, if it even existed. Time traveling seemed a bit far-fetched to me, but then again, so did a girl with Pokemom powers.

I'd looked up dates of supposed Celebi-sightings online. There was actually a website that listed the dates and locations Celebi was seen, only accepting sightings with "photographic" evidence. The earliest photograph was of a blurry wing somewhere in Jhoto. It was hard to even see the wing—it was taken before the time of high quality, color photography. The latest photograph was of a green light over the ocean, taken less than a week ago in Cape Caution. In fact, we were _in_ Cape Caution at the time.

Actually, three of the forty-three photographs were from Cape Caution. Maybe there was a fanatic up there or something.

Ah well, I couldn't put much stock in the photographs; it was likely many of them were altered digitally.

I turned my PokeTech off of silent and noticed the screen read, _Thirty-two new messages._ Thirty of them were from Anita. Two were from Jake. Oy.

Just as I gathered the inner strength to listen to the first message, a pair of glowing purple eyes appeared in the short-cut ally I was about to take. Way to freak me out, Anita. Yes, I hope you heard that, but if you did, GET OUT OF MY HEAD.

"Geeze, Erin, I'm not even in your head and I heard that," Anita said, stepping forward. She was wearing her pajamas—a large t-shirt and shorts covered in mini Eevee icons.

"Gave me a heart attack," I muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, let's see. _Someone_ here's been missing for hours. I decided to track you down psychically before having to ask Dustin for help."

It's sad that it's gotten to the point that I don't question Anita's abilities anymore. Somehow I'm not even surprised she can locate me psychically.

"Hey, where's Apple?" I asked.

An Umbreon stepped out of the shadows. Its eyes were a raspberry red—there was the barest hint of violet in those eyes. "Apple evolved?"

Anita grinned. "Yup. You missed a pretty sweet battle. I got a badge." Anita's smile wavered. "Um, about earlier… I'm sorry. Liam and I have a kind of difficult time getting along, and we were under a lot of stress, and you don't know the whole story, but at the time it seemed like keeping him knocked out was the only solution. I may have overreacted."

"I'm sorry, too. I didn't know the whole situation, and maybe shouldn't have judged so quickly."

We nodded to each other. Anita turned around and we continued down the ally in the direction she'd just come from, with Apple trotting lightly in front of us. I figured Apple would evolve soon; she clearly adores Anita.

"So what were you doing in the library?" Anita asked.

"I've got a new job. Styx hired me to research Celebi."

Anita stumbled, caught herself, and turned to me, wide eyed. "Celebi? Why?"

I shrugged. "No clue."

"Celebi, huh. Find anything cool?"

"Nope, not yet. Mostly just a bunch of garbage about recent sightings. There was even one right by us last week when we were in Cape Caution. Can you believe it?" Apple snickered and Anita chortled. "Am I missing something, guys?"

Anita waved a hand. "Nah, its just that Apple doesn't believe in Celebi… kinda an inside joke type thing."

We turned a corner, stepping out of the ally onto an empty road. Well, empty except for the Hoothoot in the trees. "So are you and Liam on okay terms?" I asked. "I'm surprised he battled with you."

"I don't know. He broke the badge Dustin gave him and stormed out of the gym. We were supposed to talk after the battle, but he disappeared for a while. I finally found him sulking in the Pokemon Center lobby, glaring at anything that breathed. I decided not to bother him. I think he's waiting for Styx to heal that Ditto of his. When I left, he was still in the lobby, but at least the rest of the lobby's empty now so he can't scowl any poor trainer to death."

We reached the stairs leading up to Artemis Town's giant Pokemon Center.

Anita stopped. "I should probably warn you, Jake is planning on kidnapping you tomorrow morning so you can be his partner for his gym battle."

I sighed. "Guess Griffy'll have to sleep by the bed—"

A sudden green flash of light illuminated the Pokemon Center's glass doors.

Anita and I looked at each other for a moment, then raced up the stairs.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Miss Teal, I'm in need of a new Forced Transformation Device." The Master's voice crackled through the walkie. As if I didn't already have enough to do tonight.

Somehow the hard drive of the Master's precious Mew-tracking computer had failed. The whole back of the computer was smoking by the time one of my underlings had the sense to unplug the damn thing. Obviously there was a short circuit somewhere, but it'd take a few hours to find the short and see the damage it caused.

I couldn't tell the Master that though. I'd be fired in a heartbeat and probably killed in two.

"We still have the original prototype here, sir," I said. "I can have Tal teleport that one to you or if you're willing to wait a few days, I can whip up another one."

If I thought the Master was capable of expressing the emotion of regret, I would've sworn I heard a sigh through the walkie-talkie's static. Probably the wind. "Keep the prototype; we can't lose all of that valuable information, but I would appreciate receiving a replacement device as soon as possible."

"Of course, sir." I hesitated. "And sir, about Sticky? I thought perhaps…"

"I'll send Sticky back as soon as I hang up. Will that suffice?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then goodnight. Master out." I hooked the walkie to my belt.

I looked around the lab, at the humming computers and their empty chairs. I didn't know where my two assistants had scampered off to, but I'd need to find them. I sighed, walked over to a glass display next to the row of computers, and pressed my thumb to the display's DNA scanner. The glass retracted, and I pulled the Forced Transformation Device prototype out of the display, careful not to disrupt any of our other technologies under development. I pressed my thumb to the DNA scanner once more to close and lock the display.

As I exited the lab into the hall, I smelled traces of smoke lingering from the tracking computer accident. Abruptly, I decided some fresh air would do me good. I'd been in the lab basement for over three hours—the smoke was starting to tickle the back of my throat.

I took the elevator to the main level and wound my way through Team Glop'emm's offices to the building's back door, which exited into the Drape Town's gym. I thought about how good it'd be to have Sticky back as I opened the gym door. Sticky was a quick learner—more than I could say about half of my assistants. Sticky'd be able to help me sort out this mess—

There was a young man standing in the doorway, clad in a tattered black shirt and jeans. My eyes darted from his wild, black hair to his green eyes.

"M—master?" I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen the Master's face. This teenager had to be the Master though, it wasn't just his eye or hair color—it was his stance, the way he casually moved himself to lean against the door, the determined glint in his eyes—

But I had just spoken with the Master. Why would he appear here? "Sir, I just talked to you on the walkie. How are you here?"

The young man stared at me.

He had to be a phony. I flipped the switch of the FTD prototype on, and before I could contemplate the repercussions of my actions, I zapped the man.

Nothing happened.

He was Master Mendol.

"Bu—but how are you here?" I unhooked the walkie from my belt and held it between us. "I just heard your voice through this—"

The Master plucked the walkie talkie from my hands, inspecting it in the light. "It seems, you've been deceived…"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Apple evolved into Umbreon.

Yet another Pokemon to strike off the ever-shrinking list of potential Mews. Rita had proven that it was physically impossible for a transformed Pokemon to evolve.

Anita was not Mew. Apple was not Mew. Assuming the FTD worked before Splash destroyed it, Splash was not Mew. Supposing Erin's testimony of Fiery's evolution could be trusted, Fiery was not Mew.

If any of these evolutions had somehow been faked, if Mew had somehow transformed instead of evolving, surly Rita would have informed me. The tracking device would've picked up the signal.

She would have told me.

Right?

I fingered the walkie talkie. Maybe I should call her back now…

No, calling her would imply that I had forgotten to ask during the prior call. The Master is not allowed to forget. It would show weakness. I would call in the morning.

Still, it now seemed utterly unlikely that any of Anita's Pokemon were Mew. Which left me where?

Could there be any truth in what Anita had told me? Was she actually "running errands" for the legendary Pokemon? Anita often exemplified a fierce loyalty to her friends and Pokemon; if she was truly loyal to Mew, she would not have given me that information. What did that signify?

Regardless, I'd need to get a full story out of her eventually.

For now, I needed to think, reevaluate the situation. What would be the best way to force Anita to tell the truth? Back her into a corner?

I paced the Pokemon Center lobby. It was empty and the lights were dimmed.

I heard the door behind the front desk to the operating rooms squeak open and looked up. Styx stood in the doorway, a PokeBall in hand. She yawned. "Sticky's good to go," she said, holding up Sticky's PokeBall.

"I appreciate you staying up to heal her," I said.

Styx laughed and tossed me the PokeBall. "Believe me, it wasn't for your sake." She turned around and waved her hand loftily at me as she exited back through the operating room doors. "Good luck."

A peculiar woman, that one.

I moved my hand to pocket the PokeBall—

There was a just the tiniest change in the air, a light aroma of flowers. I spun around and found myself face to face with Celebi. I blinked in surprise.

The green fairy dropped a piece of paper in my hand. It read: _I have a proposition for you. Open your mind if you're interested._

I watched Celebi, contemplating my chance of success in destroying this legendary Pokemon and the consequences of either failure or success.

When Celebi did nothing but flutter above the counter for a full minute, I warily opened up my mind.

{Liam Mendol, would you like the opportunity of a lifetime? Would you like to travel back in time and save your cousin?}


	45. Act Three: Time

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Hey, guys. I am a total pooh-head. Honestly, I do not deserve your wonderful reviews. Happy belated April Fools day, too! Sorry (or not?) no prank this year.

OBR- More to come, too. Good luck with that AP exam. Hope you do better than I did and actually get credit for it in college =P

- Hope you stuck around for more than just chapter 1?

Last Warrior 7- Nope you got it right, Cassie and Ray are both gay :) Very good observation about Umbreon. The tracking device at the moment, however, is broken so we'll have to see how he deals with that.

EeveeInHeart- Glad to see you're back. I'm sorry you lost some of your work. Nice observation about Jamie's grunts. :) And about Landon... well, just read. :)

Motimer S- That was one of the most amusing reviews I've ever relieved. I even forwarded it to my editor because I thought she'd enjoy reading about your brain rolling about on the floor. I'd answer your comments, but I'd end up giving away the chapter. So enjoy! Hopefully, this continues to live up to your (un)expectations :)

Glaceon34- Happy you liked the chapter! Yup, it was Anita's clever plan, though Apple and Anita both kind of give each other credit for it. Bits of it were put together at different times.

StattStatt- Thank you!

mikk317- Thanks! And thanks for bearing with me.

pikachucat- I appreciate the encouragement!

Thank you, everyone, for bearing with me. For the record, that was the most reviews and hits I ever got for a chapter in a month- again, I cannot thank all of you enough. I'll be updating more regularly once school ends (week from Tuesday *does happy dance*). So expect a chapter around this time May, if not earlier. Thank you so so much to my readers and reviewers- this story continues for you guys!

I don't think much of a "previously on" is needed for this chapter, despite not having updated for two months. So...

Previously on _An Apple A Day_:

Celebi appeared before Liam and made him an offer.

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 42: (Act 3) Time

"So the search of Seth Hasting's mansion was a total waste of time. Didn't find a scrap of evidence," Sparky said, waving his hands on my computer screen. "Nai, are you even listening?"

I scrolled through the homeownership records, pondering what I was seeing.

"Sparky," I said. "Professor Blubber recounted that Hastings moved to Cape Caution in 2005. He moved from Celadon City where he had been studying. Less than a year later, Hastings bought the mansion. Is this correct?"

"Yup. We have records from his professors at Celadon City."

I scrolled up again. "According to these homeownership records, Hastings also bought a house in Winsk City in 2003. I have a vivid memory of him moving in, and I never remember him leaving for long periods of time to travel to Celadon City. In fact, he rarely left his house."

"Uhh…"

I frowned. "Something's not right."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_{Liam Mendol, would you like the opportunity of a lifetime? Would you like to travel back in time and save your cousin?}_

"Yes," I said. No hesitation, no angry refusal at receiving aid from a legendary Pokemon, and certainly no emotion.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest as Celebi smiled slowly. My gut suddenly twisted, my vision blurred, and I was acutely aware of every inch of my skin—the way my clothes rustled against my skin, the smoothness of Sticky's Pokeball in my right hand still slightly outstretched, the cool breeze against my neck—

My vision cleared. I was standing on a beach, facing Slateport City with the ocean breeze against my back. Slateport's old fountain stood a couple hundred meters in front of me, and beyond the fountain loomed the old shipyard.

I had to be in the past. In recent years, both the fountain and the shipyard had been torn down.

I noted Celebi was nowhere to be found.

Behind me, I heard muttering. "Stupid Liam… thinking Kyogre's better _and_ leaving… what a wussy-pants…"

I spun around.

A boy with tousled black hair marched across the shoreline, muttering to himself. He was wearing a green t-shirt several sizes to big for him and swim trunks covered in little Minuns. I remember I'd had a pair covered in Plusles.

"Landon!"

When he heard his name, the boy stopped marching to face me. Time had blurred my memory. The Landon I remembered had pale skin, clean nails, and bright green eyes—a mirror image of myself. This boy was covered in sand, his cheeks burnt from the sun. The eyes were the same, though.

Behind Landon, the tide appeared to be receding. The ocean's horizon rose, as if the world was tilting. A few places along the horizon the giant wave had already broken; I could tell just how close the tsunami was by how fast the white foam approached.

We had seconds, a minute at most.

I released my Honchkrow and grabbed Landon around the waist, pulling him with me onto the bird. Landon struggled in my arms, making it difficult for Honchkrow to take off. "Help! Get off of me you kidnapping piece of Houndoom poo—"

I caught Landon's hands behind his back and pulled lightly, effectively quieting the boy. "See that wave? In less than a minute it's going to hit the beach and then Slateport, killing thousands of people and Pokemon and leaving thousands more homeless. I'm saving your life."

Honchkrow took off. I shielded Landon's eyes from the sand kicked up by Honchkrow's flapping wings. Landon started to squirm again. "Who are you? Let me down—they're still on the beach! Liam and my uncle—"

"Will be fine," I finished. Honchkrow's flight faltered as he struggled to keep us airborne with Landon twisting around. I didn't have time to deal with this.

I released Sticky, who transformed into a Noctowl while plummeting towards the sand. "Honchkrow, keep Landon out of the way," I ordered, leaping off of Honchkrow. Sticky caught me, gliding out of a dive. Over my shoulder I called, "I'll meet you above the harbor. Stay in the air."

Honchkrow honked in understanding as I directed Sticky into the city.

Despite the chill in the air, the market was lively. It was strange to see everyone bustling about, oblivious to the inevitable devastation mere seconds away. I scanned the row of shops beyond the market, my eyes landing on a store called The Submerged Swamp.

Only once we'd landed did I realize I could've called out a warning to the people in the market. No changing that now. I shoved through the double doors of The Submerged Swamp not daring to check how far away the tsunami was.

I pushed past a woman examining silverware and ran down an aisle of cleaning supplies, searching over the short, cluttered shelves for that braid of black hair—

A short blonde girl wearing a white dress blocked my way as I turned the corner of the aisle. I didn't recognize her until her hand turned pink and elongated to point out the window. "Liam, we leave now. Big wave here, crush, dead—"

"Out of my way, Sticky." I stepped around the Ditto, spotting a staircase leading to the basement. A sharp memory flashed across my mind.

"_Let me show you the vases we have in the basement," I heard the store manager say._

That's where they'd be.

I leapt down the steps two at the time. Halfway down, I paused to scan the room. "Mom?"

A woman turned to look at me. She had small wrinkles at the corners of her grey eyes. Her hair hung in a long dark braid down her back. She was shorter than I remembered.

"Velkan?"

Suddenly, I was flung downwards, my head spinning as my back hit a wall. For a moment, I thought I was back in the nightmares I had when I was younger about my grandfather's Alakazam flinging me about psychically. Then I realized my clothes were wet.

I was sitting on a pile of broken ceramic bowls, a steady flow of water pouring over my legs from the staircase I'd just fallen down. The ceiling cracked. Something slimy wrapped around my ankle.

Wouldn't it be ironic if I saved Landon only to die here? I nearly chuckled as I craned my head around to get one last look at my mother's face before the ceiling caved in. The world seemed to darken as my eyes roamed the room, and before I could locate the dark braid, my consciousness slipped away, taking with it any chance I had of saving my mother.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

When I woke up shivering on a viscid surface, my first thought was that Anita was playing some absurdly immature prank on me.

My second thought was one of relief: I was no longer trapped in a nightmare where I'd failed to save my mother.

My third thought was an acknowledgement of my surroundings, accompanied by a wave of utter despair at the realization that I had not, in fact, been dreaming. I was sitting on a Tentecruel, floating in the middle of the ocean; there was no land in sight. Above me, my Honchkrow flew in circles with a small dark figure on his back, a shadow against the clear blue sky.

The sun beat down on my stinging face. I could tell from the way it hurt to grimace that I was sunburnt.

I shakily got to my feet. My clothes were damp and heavy, clinging to my skin as if I'd had a fever. "Sticky, what happened?" I asked the Tentecruel.

Sticky could only answer with bubbles. Of course, I already knew the answer. I'd felt a tickling around my ankle just before I fell unconscious. Sticky's tentacle. Sticky had saved me before I drowned and left my mother and aunt to die. From the lack of land in sight, we were at least a day out from Slateport City, well into the Southern Sea if Sticky was heading back towards Acceber.

I needed to hear it. I put two fingers in my mouth and whistled. Honchkrow dove and neatly landed above Sticky's red orbs next to me. Landon was sleeping on the Honchkrow's back, clutching his feathers tightly. I climbed behind Landon, careful not to jostle him.

"Honchkrow, you're going to have to carry both of us for a few minutes." Honchkrow nodded and took off. He'd be able to transport both of us for forty-three minutes if my calculations of his endurance were correct.

Honchkrow hovered steadily over the water while Sticky reverted back into her amorphous body and then seamlessly transformed into a blonde human girl. A blonde girl who, unfortunately, didn't know how to swim.

"Pick her up," I said irritably as Sticky floundered. This would significantly lessen how much time Honchkrow could carry us. Honchkrow circled, gaining momentum, and then swooped, picking Sticky up in his talons.

"We have ten minutes before Honchkrow's endurance fails. Start talking," I said, peering over Honchkrow's wings. Sticky's wet, blonde hair was caught in Honchkrow's talons, but she didn't seem to notice. She clung to Honchkrow's legs, watching the ocean with mild curiosity. When Honchkrow swooped to catch an air current, she giggled.

"Sticky."

"Sorry. Never swam and flew as a person." As Sticky turned to face me, her wet t-shirt expanded into a large windbreaker and her soaked jeans puffed into large sweatpants.

I frowned. Dittos could only transform by reverting to their original form first. Rita Teal had proven it through both experimentation and analysis of the brain. What Sticky was doing should be impossible.

"Right." Sticky nodded at me. "We went into store. I see big wave. Rita sad if you die. I sad if you die. I turn into mighty Tentecruel and save you. Swim, swim, swim. Find Honchkrow and boy. When sun just leaves high point, you wake up."

I had the sudden urge to go back. To see what had happened to the store, to my mother.

Unfortunately, I'd seen it before.

"Do you know who I was looking for in the store, Sticky?" I asked slowly. Patiently, even.

Sticky looked down. "Your mom. You yell for her."

"That's right. Do you know what she looked like?"

"Woman with braid." Sticky turned towards me, but wouldn't make eye contact. She pointed to her eyes, the color of a pine tree in the evening. Her eyes turned two shades darker, a green so dark it was almost black. "Her eyes this color."

"So why didn't you save her?" I hated this feeling in my chest. This helpless, worthless—Honchkrow swerved, preventing me from tumbling over his wing.

I clutched Honchkrow's feathers and reminded myself that it was futile to return to Slateport City. My mother was dead.

"S-s-sorry. Couldn't reach anyone but you with limbs. Building going to collapse. No time. Sorry. My fault. Other people dead, too. Had to choose."

If she had the power to change her clothing, she could have elongated a tentacle. She had the power to save my mother. If I hadn't been knocked out…

No, there was no purpose in angering. Regret and sadness were useless. My mother was dead. She's been dead for seven years.

I couldn't tell if the water on Sticky's face was tears or just seawater.

My eyes stung. The wind, surely.

Honchkrow was flapping his wings much faster than he had been before picking up Sticky.

Focus. What to do now. Ideally, Celebi would appear now that I'd saved Landon, and she would take us back to my own time. Then again, ideally, there wouldn't be a tsunami, Slateport City wouldn't be in ruins, and my mother wouldn't be an unrecognizable, bloated corpse.

If Sticky had been out of her Pokeball when Celebi appeared, she could have transformed into Celebi and taken us back in time again.

Focus.

If I was stuck in this time, so be it. I'd need to find an isolated place to live with Landon, somewhere we could live peacefully with no chance of running into anyone we knew. Cianwood, Winsk City, or perhaps somewhere in Unova.

And what would happen if I did run into someone I knew? My uncle, my father, a classmate, myself? I never had in my time…

And thus logically, I never would. I frowned. We were several meters closer to the ocean than we'd been a minute ago.

Focus. I wasn't focusing.

I suddenly wondered what Anita and Erin would do. Where would they go? It was laughable, considering anyone else in my situation. Anita would find another region to challenge gym leaders in, maybe put on a ridiculous disguise. No, Erin was the one with disguises. Erin would do anything from joining the circus to opening a poetry shop. She already had the poetry book she was so protective of…

Poetry.

Abruptly, my mind shuffled several pieces of information into place. I recalled the first page of Erin's poetry book:

_There once was a boy who will went,_

_to greatest unhappiness he was sent._

_Never could it be,_

_if not for me,_

_the boy's time would be ill spent._

_So dear reader you see,_

_If you happen to be he,_

_When all rules are bent,_

_Jump through that vent—_

_And remember me, I plea!_

I blinked. It was absurd. That poem was about me. _If you happen to be he… remember me._

The book was Mysteries of Natures. The author was Seth Hastings. Professor Blubber had mentioned that. He'd also mentioned Hastings lived in Winsk City.

It was a start.

"Sticky, transform into a large flying Pokemon—Charizard or Salamance, perhaps." I wasn't sure what Pokemon Sticky had encountered. If I ever met Rita again in this lifetime, I'd make sure she introduced Team Glop'emm's Dittos to every type of Pokemon Team Glop'emm had obtained.

"Haven't but…" Sticky transformed. I noted she reverted back into a Ditto before transforming into a Dragonair. At some point, I'd have to ask about her transformation ability—sometime when I could think about her transformation without remembering my mother's death.

I shook Landon lightly. "Huh? Where—ahhh!" I caught Landon around the waist, before he fell off of Honchkrow in surprise.

"We're relocating. Don't squirm." I picked Landon up and jumped. Sticky neatly caught us on her long, sea-colored back before we hit the water, gliding upwards. I returned Honchkrow to his PokeBall, murmuring thanks. "Sticky, head east, to Acceber."

It'd be three or four days before we reached Acceber, even if Honchkrow and Sticky alternated in carrying us. Finding a place to settle down for the night could be difficult.

Landon turned around, alarmed. "We have to go back! Liam and Uncle Velkan—and I want mom."

I grabbed Landon by the back of his shirt to keep him from sliding off of the Dragonair. Picking him up in the air, I turned him around and sat him back on Sticky now facing me. "Liam and Velkan are fine. Your mother is dead."

"No, she's not!" Landon punched at my legs. "How would _you_ know? You're not like grandpa's Tal or those freaky psychic gym leaders. You can't see anywhere so you don't know."

"Landon—"

"And you're an evil kidnapper even if you didn't try to give me candy. I should've never come with you. My aunt always told me and Liam to—"

"Run away screaming," I finished with Landon.

The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "You kind of look like me."

"Yes."

"And you know what to do if you find a kidnapper. Who… who are you?"

"I'm Liam, from the future."

Landon's eyes widened. "No. You can't be. You… you're way too cool-guy-ish to be Liam. Liam always runs back crying to Aunt Sue when something bad happens."

"Like when you ate my goldfish."

"I did _not_ eat your goldfish. Eliza dared me to put it in my mouth. If you hadn't screamed when you saw the tail sticking out of my mouth, then I wouldn't have accidently crunched it with my teeth. I bought you a new one anyway."

"I remember. You asked Uncle Don what you could do to earn money for a goldfish. He had you take out the trash for a week. The garbage bin was bigger than you were—I laughed when you fell in that one time."

"I got the fish though," Landon said.

"I named it Kyogre."

Landon looked over the sea. "You… you're really Liam."

"Yes."

"And we're not going home."

"Slateport City's in ruins." I wouldn't tell him there were several survivors who would get the city back up and running within the year. No reason to keep him hopeful of returning.

"And my mom… she's…"

"Your mother and Aunt Sue are dead," I said. It was strange watching Landon. When my father told me they were dead, I remember crying for weeks. It took just one look out our window at the water damage or one glimpse of my father's tears to start the waterworks.

Landon's face, however, was dry. His eyes were hard, determined even. "Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Acceber, where I live now, where we should be able to find someone who can help us."

"We need help?"

I looked at Landon sharply. For a scrawny four-year old he was perceptive. Perhaps more so than I'd been at his age.

"I'd like to return with you to my own time," I said. "However, I don't know if that's possible. Celebi allowed me to come back in time to save you, but hasn't appeared to return us. Perhaps Celebi has something more in store for us, or perhaps I'm to live in this time period from now on. I don't know. We're going to Acceber to find a professor who will hopefully provide us with answers."

"How do you know that professor guy knows anything at all?"

"I don't."

"Sounds like you don't know too much," Landon said stiffly. He turned around to face forward, balancing his body so he wouldn't fall when he moved his leg from one side of the Dragonair to the other. "Guess you are still Liam."

I nearly smiled.

We managed to find an island to sleep on the first two nights of travel, but the third night Sticky and Honchkrow were forced to carry us through the night. As the sun was rising the next morning, we finally spotted a cargo ship trudging its way towards Artemis Town. The captain was kind enough to let us sleep on the deck… after we scrubbed it.

That evening, Landon and I stretched out and relaxed on the highest deck while the crew provided food for all of the ship's Pokemon below the deck, Sticky and Honchkrow included. "My arms and knees hurt," Landon complained, lying down beside me.

I put my hands behind my head, watching the cloudless sky. "You'll get over it. Your future surely contains far worse suffering." I was just glad to not be feeling seasick.

"I liked you better when you weren't such a pesim-pesi…err…"

"Pessimist."

"That's what I meant! And per-perfectionist. My Liam was happier."

"My Landon was brainle—oops, sorry, you _are_ the Landon I knew." I still marveled at the idea.

Landon turned his head and stuck out his tongue. When he rolled over onto his stomach, he spotted the six PokeBalls on my belt. He jumped to his knees so quickly that I was surprised the momentum didn't flip him onto his back. "You have more Pokemon? I thought it was just Ditto and the bird! What do you have? How'd you catch them? Are they evolved? I wanna hear."

And so for several hours I recounted to Landon how I raised Notal into a Mightyena before I even stepped foot in Acceber, how my Umbreon named herself Bree, and how I found my Spiritomb in the local mall's toilet bowl. Questions led to more questions, and in the following days I found myself telling Landon about my journey through Acceber to destroy Mew, my father's ascension through Team Glop'emm, and my current status as gym leader of Drape Town.

Landon looked at me with eyes full of admiration, and I wondered what all my wanderings and plots meant now that Landon stood before me, alive.

We arrived in Acceber somewhere above Apoosh forest after sunset on our sixth day of travel. I had Sticky fly us beyond the forest, past Drape Town and over the Nutshell River to the base of Hail Mountain to camp out for the night. Harvey Darcleye, the Master of Team Glop'emm in this time, had put much effort into setting up hidden bases in Apoosh forest and niches of Drape Town. Though I knew where each base was located and was very capable of avoiding every one, it was likely that the surrounding area was monitored. Were a lone teenager and a four-year-old boy to be spotted, Team Glop'emm would not hesitate to attempt a Pokemon robbery.

If I ever caught grunts that _didn't_ attempt that type of robbery, I'd permanently dismiss them from fieldwork.

The campsite I chose was a clearing in the midst of a large cluster of apple trees. As our food supply was running low, we ate apples for dinner. I had a new shrinkable set of pans Anita had bought me as a "sorry for dumping your stuff in the ocean" gift while we were shopping in Artemis Town. Sticky transformed into a Charmander and we had baked apples for dessert.

I watched Landon eat his second apple as we sat around Sticky, waiting for the baked apples to cook. "What?" he asked between bites. An apple peel fleck stuck to his nose when he took another bite.

I shrugged.

Landon took another bite of the apple, looked away, and then glanced at me again. His green eyes contrasted sharply with the red apple. "What? Why are you staring?"

"For ten years, you were dead to me." I reached out and brushed the apple fleck Landon's nose. Landon scrunched his nose in distaste. "And now, despite our age difference, despite everything that's happened to us, I still feel we're… connected. It's just strange. Strange that you're here and I can just talk to you."

"Well, I just went to the playground with you last week. You could talk to me then, too."

Yes, but for me that was ten years ago. Talking to anyone else, I would have smiled and shook my head. But not with Landon. "You're awfully insightful for a four-year-old."

"Well, even though you're better at numbers and school stuff, grandpa always called me the 'emotionally smart one.' Cuz I'm good at emotions and stuff."

The sweet smell of apples wafted through the air. "The apples are ready. Let's have some."

That night, I slept easier than I ever had since the day I discovered Landon had died.

I felt oddly fulfilled when I woke up the next morning, though I didn't remember my dreams. The sun hadn't risen, but that was typical. I rarely woke up after six.

I carefully climbed out of my sleeping bag, careful not to budge Landon, who had curled up next to me.

"Honch." Honchkrow was perched overhead, watching over our campsite.

I nodded to the bird. "Thank you for watching through the night. You can go find breakfast. Find Landon something, too." As Honchkrow flapped away, I pulled out two PokeBalls. It'd been too long. There were twin flashes of red.

Notal, my Mightyena, and Bree, my Umbreon, appeared.

"Notal, protect Landon. Bree and I are going to train." Notal's nose flared. She growled challengingly.

"Yes, this is actually Landon. Celebi's brought us back in time, and if you want the details, ask Honchkrow when he brings back breakfast." Notal growled again. Beside her, Bree rolled her red eyes, turned tail, and walked away from camp. "Don't give me that," I said to the Notal. "A few weeks in your PokeBall hasn't killed you. When you chose to come with me instead of staying in Drape Town, I warned you that we'd have to be careful. If someone were to recognize you or any of the others as my Pokemon, I would have been identified. Even Anita would realize I was Drape Town's gym leader if she noticed that all of my Pokemon were dark-typed. And if just one person found me… Acceber's gym leaders and gym challengers would impede my ability to track Mew."

Notal begrudgingly sad down next to Landon.

I turned and followed Bree past the apple trees.

When we a quarter of a mile away, far enough away to avoid waking Landon, I stopped walking. Bree turned around, her rings glittering gold in the dark, illuminating the nearby brush.

In a flash, she disappeared in a Faint Attack.

I tensed my legs and turned thirty degrees to my left. As Bree hit me, I crouched, rolled backwards onto my back, and inflicted a two-legged kick to Bree's stomach, sending her flying through the air into the brush. The momentum of Bree's attack kept me rolling in a backwards summersault. I landed with the tips of my shoes buried in the soft soil, my chest held aloft from the ground by my arms, angled in preparation for Bree's next attack.

Bree didn't disappoint. I had a second to prepare for her quick attack.

Using my arms and legs to push off the ground, I jumped over her, but Bree changed tactics mid-attack. She gazed at me with red, hypnotic eyes.

I only registered her Confuse Ray attack for a moment.

_Landon pulled on my sleeve. My clothes were dripping wet. "Liam, Liam, look! They're dying Liam."_

_I looked. My mother and aunt lied on the damp ground, their faces pale and hair wet._

"_Do something, Liam!" But I could only watch as my mother's body deflated like an air mattress. Her mouth moved but I couldn't hear the words. "Liam, you're useless!" Landon cried. He punched my shins over and over—_

Bree knocked me over. When she bared her teeth, I knew she was going in for a Bite attack. I thrust my left arm in front of me. Bree took the bait and snapped at my arm. I rolled, intending to punch her with my right fist—

_Anita sat on a stool, her eyes glowing purple. She leaned forward and smirked at me, her hands gripping the top of the stool. "Of course, I'll tell you everything about Mew, Liam. I have nothing to hide."_

"_I'm listening," I said._

_Anita's grin grew wider. "You're a smart boy. I thought you'd have figured it out by now." Something wrapped around my ankle. Sticky's tentacle, I thought, but when I looked down, it was Mew's tail. I looked to see where the tail led—_

Bree sat beside me, looking at the sky. The sun was already rising. Damn Confuse Ray.

I rubbed my head and got to my feet. "I'm out of shape. Need a better sparring partner than Anita, I imagine."

"Umbre," Bree agreed. We walked back to camp in silence.

As we neared the cluster of apple trees, I heard Landon yell, "Buster, use Ember!"

Bree and I broke into a run. Bree, of course, reached the clearing before me. I knew Landon's actions couldn't be too deplorable because she simply stood by an apple tree, unmoving.

I reached the clearing.

Landon's Hondour was battling Notal. Notal easily dodged Buster's fire and closed in, biting down on Buster's leg. Notal leapt away as Buster spurted flames wildly.

Buster stumbled forward and swayed unsteadily. This was over. Notal had a nasty Poison Fang.

"Buster!" Landon yelled as the Houndour collapsed. He ran to his Pokemon.

I returned Notal and Bree to their PokeBalls. "Landon, return Buster."

"He's hurt! I need a potion."

"No, he needs an antidote. I don't have one and leaving a poisoned Pokemon out of its PokeBall only increases the rate of affliction," I said. I frowned. "Why were you battling Notal?"

Landon was bent over Buster, cradling his head. He patted his pocket. "I… I don't know where Buster's PokeBall…"

I spotted a PokeBall in the grass where Landon had been standing. I swiftly crossed the clearing, picked up the PokeBall, and returned Buster.

"What were you doing?"

"I recognized Notal. She used to sit like that by you whenever Tal was around. Buster used to always beat her so I thought we'd battle and it'd be close since she's older…"

"That was incredibly unintelligent. We're low on food and the closest Pokemon Center is over fifty miles away. Notal's had ten years to improve; Buster didn't stand a chance."

Landon's face flushed. "Well Notal didn't have to attack so hard!"

"She didn't." I pulled out Sticky's PokeBall and released the Ditto. "I need to talk to you," I said to Sticky. I glanced at Landon. He looked pitiful, still sitting on the ground with his fists clenched and staring at his feet determinedly. "Landon, gather some apples for later."

Landon complied, muttering to himself while he got up. When I turned back to Sticky, she was already transformed into a blonde girl. "First of all, Sticky, can you transform into Scarmory or Charizard?"

"No. Never seen. Why?"

"We need to reach the top of Hail Mountain. Hail Mountain is notorious for its hail and snow storms. It will be difficult to fly through this weather on a typical flying Pokemon—Charizard or Scarmory are the best options."

"Dragonair change weather. No hail," Sticky replied.

"The cold will still be harmful to you. In addition, several ice Pokemon live within the caves and forests spread over the mountain. If you were to be hit by a single Ice Beam, you'd probably faint."

Sticky tugged at her ponytail. "Will have to do."

"I had a thought. Before, over the sea, you were able to change your clothing without morphing back into a Ditto," I said. _You could have changed the length of your tentacles to save my mother._ I looked past Sticky's shoulder, unwilling to meet her eyes.

"Yes. Small clothing change easy. Know material. Rita teach me properties."

"So theoretically, could you change into a whole different Pokemon without transforming back into a Ditto?"

"No, don't know properties. Have to rely on transform memory." She had to be referring to the memory stored in a Ditto's brain, replacing the area of the brain typically devoted to evolution. The complete memory of all encountered Pokemon would only exist when she was a Ditto.

I nodded. "And Rita tells me that you created that body for yourself. How?"

"Imagine. Combine transform memory."

"Then can you imagine a Pokemon with different typing? For instance, a Dragonair that's a partial fire type and thus resistant to ice?"

"Never try. When transformed, don't know... properties."

"Humans have different properties, though, and you were able to pick and choose which properties you wanted to have in this form."

"Human one species. Pokemon several."

I sighed. Given more time and Rita's equipment, perhaps I could come up with a series of experiments to test exactly what Sticky was capable of. However, under these circumstances, it was most important to meet with Seth Hastings. If Sticky proved unable to take us all the way to the top of Hail Mountain, I had my own Pokemon I could rely on.

"Alright, Sticky, transform into Dragonair. We're leaving." I turned to find Landon, but Sticky sidestepped in front of me.

"Mr. Master, we go home soon, right? I miss Rita. Want to help."

"You are helping, Sticky. I don't know about seeing Rita, though. We could be stuck in this time." I moved past the girl, scanning the apple trees. Landon was in the largest tree, closest to Hail Mountain's steepening slope.

What _would_ happen if I contacted the Rita of this time? She didn't know my father yet. In fact, she might not even be working for Team Glop'emm. It was sometime this year that she would join. Until I understood exactly how the time stream worked, exactly how my actions would influence the future, perhaps it was best to have as little contact as possible with people from this time.

"Landon, ready to go?" I called as I reached the large apple tree. Landon, leapt out of the tree, landing beside me. He held four apples in his arms and gathered up the few he'd plucked from high branches and dropped to the ground. He didn't look at me.

We walked back to our camp area and packed everything into my bag in silence. When Honchkrow cawed overhead, I returned him to his PokeBall.

"Landon, I apologize. I was a little harsh before," I finally said. "We should reach Winsk City on top of Hail Mountain before dark tonight, and we can take Buster to the Pokemon Center." I unclipped Buster's PokeBall from my belt and offered it to Landon.

He took the PokeBall and pocketed it. We climbed atop Sticky and took off.

Two hours later, the air was much colder and it was more difficult to breathe. Though the morning had begun sunny and cloudless, Sticky had created thick overhead clouds in an attempt to keep some of the warmth in the atmosphere. It wasn't having much of an effect. I'd had to unshrink the sleeping bags and wrapped them around Landon and me to stay warm.

Sticky pushed through the thin, cold air with more endurance than I'd credited her with.

By mid-afternoon, we were flying past cliffs made entirely of ice. Scaling Hail Mountain was one of the most challenging climbs in the world and by far the most challenging in Acceber. Nai Shivicle, the gym leader of Winsk City, rarely received gym challenges simply because it was so difficult to reach the top of the mountain.

When we took a brief break on a ledge made entirely of ice, Landon huddled in my large green sleeping bag and asked, "When we meet the Hastings man, you're not going to leave me, are you?"

Sticky munched on a few apples I tossed to her. "Where else would I go?"

Landon just looked at me.

"No, I'm not going to leave you."

"What if a big monster Pokemon, like Kyogre, takes you away?"

"Kyogre can't climb mountains."

"Fine. Articuno or Lugia."

I bent down so I could see Landon eye to eye. Is cheeks were rosy from the cold. "Landon, if anything separates us, I will come find you."

"Dragonair!" Sticky declared. Whether it was an agreement or an indication that she was done eating, I couldn't say. We climbed back on her back and continued up the mountain.

With Sticky's ability to hold the weather at bay, the biggest challenge we encountered was a group of wild Glalies trying to shoot Sticky down with Ice Beam. Sticky paralyzed them with a weak electric shock from her horn, allowing us to escape unscathed.

The Pokemon Center was closed for the evening when we reached Winsk City. This was one of the few towns, I reflected, in which the Pokemon Center could afford to close at all.

Landon held my arm tightly as we made our way to the nearest house; the ground was completely coated in ice. We knocked on the door and asked directions to Seth Hasting's house. It was two more attempts before a man recognized the name as "the Professor who just moved here" and pointed us to the hut on the outskirts of the town.

The hut was small and slightly decrepit. A large portion of the gutter was hanging loosely, weighed down by the snow, and icicles hung from the roof around the hut's windows. Smoke rose from the chimney slowly, as if it was an effort to keep the smoke rising.

I knocked on the door as Sticky transformed into her human form, this time wearing a thick fur coat.

A man wearing a maroon bathrobe and large, round bifocal glasses answered the door. He had dark bags under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he'd been crying.

"Seth Hastings?"

"Come in, it's cold out. And please, call me Bert."

As we entered, Bert peered over my shoulder. "Ah, and this must be Landon."

I stopped walking and stepped in front of Landon. "How do you—"

In front of me, by the living room hearth, fluttered Celebi. Landon gripped my arm tighter. "It's Celebi," he whispered.

I scanned the room. To my left there was a desk cluttered with papers. I spotted a paper that read, _There once was a boy who will went_. The walls of the room were made of wood. There were no paintings or photos hanging up. Across the room, there were two doors. One door was closed, but the other doorway I could see led to a kitchen. On my right was the living room, complete with a cushioned couch, thick carpet, and a fireplace.

"Why you here?" Sticky asked Celebi, stepping in front of Landon and me.

Celebi looked at me expectantly.

"Landon," I said. "You need to let go of my arm so I can hear what Celebi wants to say."

"You can _control _whether you can let psychics into your brain?" Landon asked. I frowned at him. This wasn't the time.

Landon scowled and let go of my arm.

I opened my mind.

{I'm here to take you home, of course.}

Dread filled my stomach. I knew where this was leading. To be sure, I asked, "If you are just going to take us back to my time, why drag us all the way to Winsk City?"

{First of all, you're the one who decided to come here. Second of all, who said there was an 'us' involved? I'm only taking you back to your own time. You've accomplished what you came back in time to accomplish, and Professor Hastings here has so kindly agreed to raise Landon in your stead.}

"No," I said.

{You really don't have an option. I'll give you a few minutes to say your goodbyes.}

My head felt like it was spinning. Not again. I couldn't lose Landon again. "Sticky, trans—"

{Do you really want to fight a Pokemon that can time travel? Use that logical brain of yours. Struggle, and I'll pop you back to your own time now and disappear completely from your life. You won't even be able to say goodbye. I'm trying to be nice by offering so don't waste it.}

I turned to Hastings, angry. "You'll take good care of him, you swear?"

The man flinched. "Y-yes. Of course."

"Why did you agree to this?" I asked.

Bert smiled sadly. "I had a son once, too."

Landon tugged at my sleeve. "What's going on, Liam?"

Ignoring him, I turned to Sticky. Whatever happened in the future had already happened. Landon's body had washed ashore four years from now. That meant either Landon would actually die, or…

"Sticky, you're staying here. In four years you need to go back to Slateport City, imagine how Landon's body would look if he had died the day of the Tsunami, transform into his corpse, and allow yourself to be found. You will be buried alive. After you can do as you please. I'm sure you can come up with some Pokemon that can dig out of a coffin. I'll keep your PokeBall so there's no possible way for anyone to catch you. If you find me in the future, I'll return it to you."

"I already knew," Sticky said. A strange reply.

"Liam?" Landon tugged on my sleeve again.

"Already knew what, Sticky?"

"Knew this happen." She stood a little taller, proudly. "I told me."

"Liam!"

I turned to Landon, putting my hands on his shoulders. "Landon, Celebi says she will only take me back to my time."

"No! Stay here! You said you would! You said!" Landon pounded his fists on my chest. I let him.

"This man, Bert, has agreed to take care of you, okay?"

"Don't go! Tell Celebi you're not going!"

"Landon, remember how strong the tsunami was that destroyed Slateport City? The city didn't have a choice in whether the tsunami hit it or not. This is the same way. I don't have a choice. The legendary Pokemon will do what it wants regardless of my decision." I hugged Landon. He was shaking.

"I hate them," he whispered. "I hate legendaries." He pulled away. "I hate you, too. Even if the stupid fairy says you have to go with her, can't you at least try not to?"

There was a fluttering by my ear. I knew Celebi hovered just behind my shoulder. Gripping Landon's shoulders tightly, I leaned over and pressed my lips to the soft mess of Landon's hair. "Try not to get in too much trouble, and take care of Buster."

My gut twisted and vision blurred.


	46. Break Away

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You guys deserve waaayyy better than these ridiculous updates. The bad news is this chapter Is a month late. The good news is this chapter is a month late because the next chapter (which I was writing) is ridiculously long. Thus, I've decided to split the next chapter so I WILL BE POSTING ANOTHER CHAPTER A WEEK FROM TODAY.

On another note, has YET AGAIN decided to mess with the formatting so now it looks like 'o' on a single line is a new point of view. I don't like how it looks, but I'd rather spend my time writing than going back and fixing every single one of my chapters. From now on, the division line for new point of views will look like: o ~ o ~ o ~ (until, of course, decides to erase that formatting). If you happen to notice major formatting problems (like nothing between changes in point of views) PLEASE LET ME KNOW, because that would be important to fix.

Review time, and there were a lot. Seriously guys, thank you so much! It's you guys that keep me writing (even when it seems like I'm not because of lack of updates) and I would be even less on track without your encouragement. Thank you.

mikk317- I feel like your expression applies to this chapter, too. :( But thanks, and I can't wait to go!

pikachucat- Thank you!

OBR- Hope the AP Test went better than mine went back in the day...

StattStatt- My editor often scolds me for making the Celebi of this story such a bad example for her stuffed Celebi. X)

Sandy Star- Tehehe. You'll know soon enough. Let me know if you guessed right!

ChaosAngel4us- Celebi can be very confusing. But then again, only Celebi knows which events trigger each other in the long scheme of time. And it gets harder and harder to have all the characters in every chapter- they're so spread out now! Thanks!

Montimer S- Thank you. When it comes to Landon, I don't think Liam can help but be a bit emotional...

Umbreon of Darkness- Thanks for adding me!

MAnon- Just so you know, when I read this review, I flipped. I'm still obsessed with that song, and you totally made my day.

Last Warrior- ...Guess you've had plenty of time for rereading. Sorry! You'll have to wait and see what happens. ;) But I like your predictions!

GRCDarkWolf- I do my best, and I'll keep at it. I do promise that this story will have an ending, no matter how long it takes me. I have a goal of finishing before I'm out of school so...

Raichu- Thanks!

JacobTheNerdy1- Cute name. Thank you very much!

Alright guys, thank you. I've never received so many reviews. If this writing back at the beginning of each chapter is becoming a nuisance, and you guys would rather me PM my thanks, let me know. I just really want to make sure I acknowledge everyone who's taken the time to read this. It seriously means a lot to me.

WARNING: WHILE THIS CHAPTER DOES NOT CONTAIN GORE, IT ALLUDES TO VERY MATURE AND VIOLENT THEMES.

Previously on _An Apple a Day_:

Styx, the normal gym leader's strange-powered girlfriend, tries and fails to help Anita break Liam's Forced Transformation Device. Anita achieves this herself, making Liam furious. Anita manages to convince Liam to battle the the normal-typed gym leader twins. In exchange, she will tell Liam everything she knows about the whereabouts and habits of Mew. During the gym battle, Anita manages to deceive everyone watching into believing Apple evolved into Umbreon, thus proving Apple's 'innocence' of being Mew.

Several miles away in Drape Town, the tracking device picked up Apple's transformation. However, a Team Glop'emm grunt, presumably paid off, broke the machine as soon as it emitted this information.

Both Jamie Arkle, assistant to the Master, and Seth Hastings, Mel's father who traveled back in time, were jailed and happen to share a cell. Jamie Arkle was thrown in jail as a suspect for leading Team Glop'emm. Seth Hastings was accused of child abuse and withholding information on the dark gym leader's location. They are being held in Zahavah City, home of the psychic gym leader, Tamara Lilac. Tamara is being partially held hostage by Liam's Spiritomb, who prevents her from telepathically showing anyone else Liam's face or doing anything that might endanger his trainer.

Meanwhile, after the gym battle, Celebi takes Liam back in time to rescue his cousin Landon from certain death. Celebi forces Liam to return to his own time without Landon; Landon is left under the care of Seth Hastings. Liam also leaves Rita Teal's Ditto, Sticky, back in time so Sticky may pretend to be a dead Landon washed ashore.

Anita and Erin see the green light emitted from the Artemis Town Pokemon Center from Liam time traveling.

The Master requests a new Forced Transformation Device from Rita Teal. However, as soon as she gets off the walkie-talkie with him, he appears on Team Glop'emm's doorstep...

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Chapter 43: Break Away

"It seems, you've been deceived…"

The Master grabbed a long, black cloak hanging by the door and pulled it on as he walked down the hall. He pocketed my walkie. I hurried after him, my lab coat brushing against my ankles with each step. When I realized I was still holding the FTD prototype, I clipped it to my belt.

"Sir, if you weren't on the other end of the walkie, who was?" I asked

"A very good question," the Master answered. He slowed his pace, peering into offices as we walked past them. I fell in step beside him, examining the boy out of the corner of my eye.

He looked scrawny, as if he hadn't eaten for a few weeks. He was taller than I remembered, having grown at least an inch since he left the base.

If he didn't know who was on the other end of the walkie, we were in trouble. And Sticky… "Sir, do you know what's happened to Sticky?"

"Sticky?"

I felt the blood drain out of my face. "One of my Dittos, sir." Just how long ago did he lose the walkie-talkie? How many Team Glop'emm secrets had I shared with the man on the other side of the walkie? Dear Arceus, I'd supplied him with the Forced Transformation Device.

And Sticky. Sticky was endangered because of the Master's carelessness.

The Master shrugged and continued walking. I suddenly felt a rush of anger towards the boy walking in front of me. Why hadn't he called as soon as the walkie had been lost? There were plenty of other means of communication. If anything happened to Sticky, there'd be hell to pay—

"Take me to the device," the Master said.

"Of course," I said stonily. The corner of the Master's mouth twitched. Almost a smirk.

I could punch the brat.

I frowned as we turned a corner, feeling slightly guilty. Punch the brat. No, I couldn't. Just the thought made me sick to my stomach, made me feel as low as that shithead Arkle. I pressed my thumb to the DNA scanner at the end of the hall, granting us elevator access.

Something was wrong, I thought as we rode to the lower basements. Something felt wrong. I glanced at the Master again. He'd put up his hood. I'd never felt the urge to act in such a violent manner, even while sitting through the hundreds of meetings in which Arkle constantly spouted nonsense.

We exited the elevator. Eyebrows of Team Glop'emm employees shot up as we passed. A few of the lab researchers we passed nodded to the Master or murmured, "Welcome back, sir."

We stopped before the door where the device was located. I took a deep breath, knowing this would not go over well. "Sir, you should be informed that there has been an accident. Something in the device's circuitry shorted, and the tracker is currently down. We're working hard to fix—"

The Master waved a hand nonchalantly, turned heel, and walked back towards the elevator.

I narrowed my eyes. No, something was certainly not right. "Sir," I said. "There's an important matter I'd like to discuss with you. Can we go to your office?"

The boy nodded, his eyes an eerie green beneath his hood.

"You remember Janet, your secretary…" I chatted relentlessly as we returned the way we came, and rode the elevator up to the office floor. I watched the boy carefully for a reaction.

When we reached the Master's office, I moved aside. I'd opened every other DNA scanning door. The cloaked boy didn't immediately press his thumb to the scanner. Perhaps he'd still expected me to open the door for him.

I watched him expectantly.

He pressed his thumb to the scanner. The light glowed red. Access denied.

My suspicions were confirmed. This boy was not the Master. I swiped my thumb across the scanner, opened the door, and shoved the boy into the office.

The door swung shut behind us. "For the record, the Master's never had a secretary," I said. I walked around the Master's desk and took a seat in his cushioned swivel chair, folding my hands atop the desk. "Now you're going to tell me who the hell you really are."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

I wearily pressed the "end call" button on the communication screen and leaned back in my office chair. So much for gaining assistance from Morty, Johto's ghost gym leader. Espeon rubbed against my legs in an attempt to provide what little comfort she could.

{You do realize that I'm not even trying to get _you_ out of my body,} I said. As usual, the Spiritomb didn't respond.

Espeon looked at me sharply. She knew something was wrong; after all, every time Liam Mendol's damned Spiritomb interfered with my body or psychic powers, Espeon felt my presence disappear. I was also fairly certain that the Spiritomb was filtering what telepathy I received from Espeon, preventing me from even listening to her questions.

If only she would tell one of the other gym leaders that something felt strange…

I yawned as I pulled out Acceber's prison reports. Really, it was about time I hired someone else to deal with all this paperwork.

Frowning, I paged through the paperwork until I found Jamie Arkle's file. {This case would be over if it weren't for you,} I told the Spiritomb. {If you would allow me to contract a powerful ghost user, we could kick the ghost out of this psychopath's body, interrogate the man, and get him permanently thrown into a higher security prison.}

Every time I had attempted to broach the subject of ghost Pokemon residing in human bodies, Spiritomb had prevented me from speaking. Morty was probably still wondering why I had contacted him in the first place.

I skimmed through the guards' report for the day of Arkle's activities. Ate meals as usual. Spewed profanity. Tried to stab another prisoner with a pencil during the recess period. It was noted that the other prisoner attacked first. At 7:05 pm, demanded and received his single phone call.

{Did any guards report anything unusual about Jamie Arkle's phone call?} I asked Espeon.

She shook her head, but sent a series of psychic pulses at my computer, psychically navigating to open the video on my computer screen.

The scene began with Jamie Arkle entering an empty interrogation room, bare except the communication screen across from the door. A guard I knew by the name of Willis entered behind Arkle, softly closing the heavy door.

Espeon continued to psychically push keys on my computer keyboard and the screen divided. The left half of the screen continued to show Arkle in the interrogation room while the right half was a fuzzy grey, indicating Arkle had not yet made a phone call.

On the screen, as Arkle dialed a number, there was a loud wrapping on the door. "Yo, Will, get out here. We need backup getting that lunatic professor back into his cell."

My eyes narrowed in on Willis as he left the room. Major protocol breach. All phone calls were supposed to be supervised—the cameras in the room were solely for security purposes. They were not regularly reviewed. I'd have to have a word with Willis and his supervisor…

{Isn't Jamie Arkle's cellmate a 'lunatic professor'?} Espeon asked.

{Yes.} A feeling of misgiving settled in my stomach, something that had been occurring with less frequency since Mendol's Spiritomb entered my life.

On the right half of the screen, a boy with brown eyes and ridiculous bleached hair hanging in his face appeared. He appeared to be in an upscale flat. Behind the boy was a double sized bed with an ornate headboard and plush comforter. There was a pretty blonde girl lying on the bed reading a magazine.

What would Arkle want with teenagers?

"Oh, it's _you_," the boy said. "What do you want?"

"Good to see you, Reece. I'll be taking the favor you owe me, now," Arkle replied.

"Dude, now's really not a good time—" Reece, the boy, started.

"I don't particularly care. The Gallade I gave you has been trained in hypnotism and mind control. You will teleport to Globert City and hypnotize as many poison Pokemon as possible to attack Cereal City. You will then teleport the poison Pokemon into Cereal City."

Reece scratched his head. "By attack, do you mean like kill people?"

"I mean cause as much destruction as possible, and if people happen to die…"

I paused the video. Hell. I glanced at the clock at the computer clock. The call was made six hours ago, which meant it might already be too late. Despite the immense power it would use, I sent my mind out to Cereal City's gym, searching for Kyle or Tounsil, his Vaporeon.

I located him in his loft above the gym. {Kyle, wake up. Look out the window.}

Drowsily, the gym leader rolled out of his bed, untangling himself from his sheets. "Tamara?" he asked. I didn't answer; it was hard enough to maintain this connection. I could only sense a portion of what Kyle could because of how often I'd entered his mind in the past. Kyle shook his head and stumbled to the window.

I felt the cool air hit his face.

And then smelled the poisonous fumes.

Immediately, I returned to my body. "Espeon, we have to go."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Erin and I swung the Pokemon Center doors open in unison and stumbled into the building. Apple nearly tripped me as she bolted ahead.

_SMACK_

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting to find, but certainly not Styx slapping Liam across the face. It was a loud slap, like the sound of someone belly-flopping into a pool. Liam's cheek was cherry red. I was shocked Liam didn't move out of the way. I'd seen him dodge hundreds of kicks and punches, and _this _had to have hurt.

"That's for before, you asshole," Styx said.

Liam blinked. "You're not Landon."

"No shit." Styx shook her head, then examined Liam's belt, snatching the PokeBall clipped farthest on his right hip. "This is mine." Styx took a step back and crossed her arms.

They watched each other for a moment. Styx's eyes flicked to me, and a minute smile crept on to her face. "And this, Liam, is for helping me meet the love of my life." She bent over and kissed Liam's head.

Erin and I exchanged bewildered looks.

{Err, did I miss something?} Apple asked. {I'm pretty much an emotional-vibe expert being psychic and all, but I don't know what to make of _that_.}

The doors to the emergency care area were flung open as Dustin kicked them open with his casted leg, using the crutches to create forward momentum. Somehow I didn't think the doctors would be pleased with the innovative use of the cast as a battering ram.

Dustin immediately spotted Styx leaning intimately towards Liam.

{Anita, I'm getting a weird vibe from Styx. You've tried to read her mind before, right? Well, when I try to look at it now, its like she's not even there—she feels like Liam feels.} I frowned and tried to sense Styx myself. Nothing. Apple was right.

Dustin leaned on his right crutch and pointed the left one at Liam. "Alright, kid, unless you want to become minced Mendol bits, you will explain to me exactly what is going on here."

Liam's expression was uncharacteristically lackluster. Something was wrong. Usually by this point he'd be goading Dustin with a smirk and some derisive language.

"Your girlfriend's a Ditto," Liam said, stepping back from Styx.

A childish comeback, I thought, and really random. "Liam, are you okay?" I asked as he walked towards us. "What happened?"

Liam strode past us through the Pokemon Center doors into the night. Erin, Apple, and I followed.

Liam had already started down the concrete stairs. "Liam, what happened?" I asked again. He didn't stop.

"We're your friends, Liam. We're only trying to help," Erin called.

Liam had reached the bottom of the stairs. He turned to face us, with eyes glowing like green miniature moons in the moonlight. Next to me, Apple's yellow rings were just as bright.

"I have a family emergency I must attend to immediately," Liam said.

"Alright, well we'll come," Erin offered. "Where is it?"

I didn't say anything, hesitant. {Apple, something's fishy. He made me swear earlier today to give him all information about Mew and now he's just _leaving_?}

{You know, it's very possible that he considers his family more important than destroying Mew,} Apple said. {That's how most people think.}

{Most of Liam's family's dead,} I said, recalling our conversation in line for the Adventure Quest roller coaster.

Apple didn't have a reply to that.

"You're not coming." Liam turned around and continued down the street. Erin hurried after him, and I followed, trying to track Liam with my eyes. In his dark shirt and muddy cache pants, Liam seemed to slip between shadows cast by the dim streetlights.

Erin broke into a run when she hit the bottom of the stairs, and Liam darted out of sight into an alley. I caught up with Erin when she stopped in front of the alley, squinting through the darkness. It was empty.

{Look up,} Apple called. I turned around. Apple still sat at the top of the stairs. I followed her gaze to the stars and spotted the faintest black silhouette of a large bird against the dark sky.

{Liam?} I asked Apple.

{Likely. It flew out near the alley you're by.}

I tapped Erin on the shoulder and pointed. She swore, yanked out her PokeTech, and dialed Liam's number. Of course, he didn't answer.

"Damn, if I had a Pokemon that could carry us…" Erin muttered as we walked back to the Pokemon Center.

"He'll be back," I said. He would if he wanted the particulars about Mew.

"He will if I have anything to say about it," Erin grumbled. "We could follow him; he was heading west. Maybe Dustin would lend us a bird—"

"All of Acceber's west of here," I reminded Erin. "We don't know where he flew off to."

We walked in silence up the Pokemon Center staircase. As I opened the Pokemon Center doors, Erin started, "Actually, Anita, there's something I've wanted to—"

Dustin was speaking to Styx. "—time travel. And he knows that you're a Ditto, Styx. Can't you see how dangerous—" Dustin noticed Erin and I had reentered the Pokemon Center.

"What about time travel?" Erin asked at the same time I said, "Liam wasn't joking about Styx being a Ditto?"

Dustin looked at us, opened his mouth then closed it. "Well, this is awkward," he finally said.

{Even if Styx is a Ditto, that doesn't explain how she fought you off psychically and how now she's disappeared from my mind's sight like she's got a dark gift,} Apple said. {It's like she can just imagine exactly what she wants to transform into and poof…}

{And _none_ of that explains how she knew about the FTD.}

"I think you have some explaining to do," I told Styx pointedly.

Styx rolled her eyes and threw her ponytail over her shoulder. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Well, I for one, want to know why you kissed Liam," Dustin said, turning towards Styx as if he'd been lightheartedly arguing with her the whole time Erin and I were outside the Pokemon Center. "Don't think I didn't see that through the windows on the emergency care doors—"

"Will you guys SHUT UP," Erin yelled. She pointed at Dustin. "You need to stop trying to distract us from our questions. It won't work. If you actually thought something went on with Styx and Liam you wouldn't be talking about it in front of us." Erin turned her death glare to Styx. She visibly flinched. "And you asked _me_ to research Celebi so if you know something about time travel, I should be informed. More importantly, Liam just flew off somewhere because _you_ did or said something to him. I don't care if you're a Ditto, a Magikarp, or a dead frog—as Liam's friends, Anita and I deserve some answers."

I grinned at Styx over Erin's shoulder. Erin turned around to face me, wiping the smile right off my face. "And I don't know _what_ has gotten into you, Anita," she said quietly. "I thought whatever issues between you and Liam were through, but you didn't even try to stop him from leaving just now."

"Erin, I…" I honestly didn't know what to tell her at this point.

"Well that last one can be explained easily enough," Styx said, pulling out a chair from a nearby table and sitting down. "See Erin, Anita's Mew, and Liam intends to destroy Mew."

{Wow, this is better than a soap opera,} Apple commented dryly. She pushed a chair under my legs, forcing me to sit before I decided to yank someone's hair out.

"Anita, I had no idea—" Erin started.

"I'm not Mew," I snapped.

"Then I'm not a Ditto," Styx said sarcastically.

"Seriously, Liam tested me with that freakin' FTD and nothing happened."

"FTD?" Erin asked.

With one hand, Dustin pulled two more chairs around from the other side of the table, forming a circle. He sat down next to Styx, and Erin sat next to me. Apple lied down under my chair.

Erin held the edge of her seat intently, glancing from me to Styx.

"We should start from the beginning," Styx muttered, looking at me expectantly. I nearly rolled my eyes—Styx knew _more_ than me.

Styx continued watching me. Fine, whatever. I turned to Erin and said, "Liam's been hunting Mew from the moment we met him at Peepin Pond. I had suspicions, but wasn't totally sure until I saw him use this FTD—Forced Transformation Device—on Sticky, that Ditto his Professor person sent him."

Erin frowned. "I fail to see how you can conclude he is pursuing Mew based on a piece of transformation technology. You're paranoid—it could be totally unrelated." Erin blinked. Geeze, she sounded just like Liam in encyclopedia mode. "Just so you know, I accept you for you are whether or not you are a legendary Poke—"

"I'm not Mew," I growled. "He already tested me with the FTD—it was disguised as that syringe he told you was a disease cure or something. If he's not chasing Mew, why do you think he would lie to you about the syringe?"

"Some non-disclosure rule, I don't know," Erin said, folding her arms. She looked at me thoughtfully. "As much as I'm tempted to, as a friend it really wouldn't be fair of me to just blow off this ridiculousness… So, supposing I believe you about this forced-transformation device, why would Liam be hunting Mew?"

"He _told _me he was hunting Mew, Erin. A lot of Liam's family was killed in the Slateport City tsunami, and Lily—the girl Liam knew in Vintage Village—her parents were killed by Mew. He has a thing against legendary Pokemon."

"And you're not Mew?"

"Correct."

"Then… why do you care?"

Styx smirked, looking at me like I was a mouse in a trap. Dustin was leaned forward, closing his eyes and resting his elbows on his cast.

"I've… kind of have had a connection to Mew for a while now. I sometimes run errands for her." Beneath me Apple shifted, and I just knew she was hiding a smile. Well, it was kind of true, and that's what I told Liam.

Styx raised her eyebrows doubtfully.

"Errands?" Erin asked.

"Well, I've done her favors—gave her my observations of a couple of cities, brought her medicine once—just small stuff. In exchange, she told me about the gift, and got me started training with telepathy." Still all technically true.

"And you haven't tried to catch it…her… yet?" Dustin asked, his close-eyed expression unchanging.

"With what, a PokeBall?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Erin asked.

"Would you have believed me? Do you even believe me now?"

Erin sighed and bent over to scratch Apple's ears. "So you're emotionally attached to Mew, and won't give up its location to Liam, who's trying to destroy Mew."

"Yup, that about sums it up."

"But where would Liam get the resources to…" Erin trailed off. I found it slightly annoying that I couldn't read her mind when she was touching Apple's fur; a side effect of Apple transforming I really hadn't considered. "Yes, I believe you."

I nodded, turning my attention to Styx. "Your turn. Why do you think I'm Mew, how do you know about the FTD, and are you actually a Ditto?"

Styx pointed a finger at me. Her arm extended disturbingly long, morphed into a tentacle, and reached for my head. I instinctively drew back, but Styx's limb extended until it was touching my forehead. "Yes, I am a Ditto," she said. "Until recently, I worked under Rita Teal, the Professor that Liam works with. I helped create the Forced Transformation Device."

{Apple, how does she do that? Pokemon shouldn't be able to transform straight from one form to the next, right?}

{I have no idea. It could explain why we can't feel her mind though. If she can incorporate Liam's dark gifted DNA into her own…}

"You work in a Pokemon Center inventing medical devices, are majoring in Linguistics and Biomechanical Engineering, and in your spare time assist whack-jobs with their Mew-destroying projects?"

"I didn't know what the FTD would be used for when I was initially working on it. Later, I learned it was supposed to be used on you—Liam was convinced you were Mew. I know what its like to adjust to life as a transformed Pokemon, and I wasn't going to let a little syringe destroy all the work you've put into building a life and relationships…" Styx leaned back and tugged on her ponytail. "A pity you're not actually Mew. I'd have a tip or two for you on transformations."

{Can you think of any way I can ask about transformation without sounding ridiculously suspicious?} I asked Apple.

Apple sighed in pleasure when Erin scratched a particularly sensitive spot on her ear. {Mmm, nope.}

"So what about the time travel thing?" Erin asked.

Styx shrugged. "Dustin just mentioned a new side project of mine—time travel. If Celebi can do it, theoretically we should be able to build a machine that can also manipulate time."

I frowned. Styx's dismissive attitude didn't quite fit the situation. Then again, without the ability to use my gift on her, it was difficult to tell whether or not she was lying.

I caught Erin's eye. She agreed with me.

"So why'd you slap Liam?" I asked. "And why did he have your PokeBall?"

Styx raised an eyebrow at me. "Suspicious, much? Don't worry, I didn't abuse your boyfriend."

"You slapped him," Erin pointed out.

"What, is he your boyfriend, too?" Styx asked, pulling Dustin's hand into hers. "Liam figured out I was a Ditto, took my PokeBall—yes, I have a PokeBall—and taunted me. What would you have done?"

Well yeah, I probably would have tried to hit him.

"You're four or five years older than us," Erin said.

Styx smirked. "You sure about that? I'm a Ditto, remember?"

And once again, Styx was drawing our attention away from Liam. Maybe it wasn't on purpose. Maybe. No, it probably was. Ugh, something just didn't feel right…

I replayed the scene Erin and I'd walked into earlier, and felt Apple's presence heighten. She watched with me. Styx slapped Liam. _"You're not Landon," _Liam had said.

{Who the hell's Landon?} I asked.

{Probably family if he's dealing with a family emergency,} Apple said.

{Maybe.} I shook my head. {Apple, he _let_ Styx hit him. When was the last time anyone's hand connected with Liam's face?}

"…borrow a Noctowl to fly after him?" I heard the end of Erin's question. She watched Dustin intently.

Dustin didn't look interested in Erin's question; in fact, with his head in the palm of his hand and his eyes shut, he looked like he was going to fall asleep. I yawned and checked my watch. 3:14 a.m. Definitely well past my bedtime.

"Erin, it's late. Maybe we should just follow him tomorrow," I said. "Or we can wait. He'll be back eventually—"

Suddenly, Dustin jumped up, clutching his head in pain. "Shit, shit, shit. Tamara… ow."

Styx quickly moved to support Dustin's shoulder so he didn't fall over. "What is it?"

"We have to go. According to Tamara, Cereal City's under attack."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Even flying in the moonlight on this cool summer night was failing to effectively clear my mind of images of Landon. The Landon I'd abandoned in his own time. My four-year old cousin, Landon.

Upon my take-off, I'd pointed Honchkrow towards Winsk City, where Hastings, and assumedly Landon, had been residing ten years ago. In my initial attempt to find Landon, I'd overlooked the very obvious fact that it'd been ten years since I left Landon in Winsk City and it was likely he no longer resided there.

I quickly rectified my error, redirecting Honchkrow to Artemis Town's library to look up the current residence of Professor Hastings.

My findings were disturbing. Beyond disturbing. Something in my stomach seethed, threatening to collapse.

Professor Hastings had recently been arrested for suspected child abuse.

Even when my mother died, both times she died, I didn't feel—

I momentarily shut my eyes, trying to let the moonlight wash over me and absorb my thoughts. Now I was headed to Zahavah City, where Acceber's central jail was located.

The wind rustled my clothes, still damp from the snow in Winsk City. I shivered.

"_Landon, if anything separates us, I will come find you."_

Hours ago. I'd said that hours ago. My stomach churned again, this time because Honchkrow had begun to descend.

Zahavah City twinkled at night. Lights shimmered on skyscrapers, streetlights, and trees, all reflected off of the encompassing psychic screen that surrounded Zahavah City. The screen was used to detect and track every person who entered and exited the city.

Well, almost every person.

Honchkrow dipped through the barrier. We passed above the Zahavah City Gym and over a tree full of Murkrows, one of the few wild Pokemon that populated the streets of Zahavah City.

The gym was strategically placed less than half a mile from the Zahavah City jail. Tamara always had at least three psychic Pokemon, usually accompanied by Pokemon that worked for the police department, patrolling the area.

As I flew above the barbed wire fence, I scanned the area. No psychic Pokemon by the gym. Eight guards patrolling the prison ground's perimeter, each accompanied by an Arcanine. A single Alakazam near the prison's front gate.

Odd, where were the rest of Tamara's Pokemon?

After my previous break-in to the gym, I'd expected an increase in security. This was rather… disappointing.

The actual building possessing the prisoner holding cells had only one entrance. Lights illuminated the path that led from the front gate to the single door.

Once I landed, the lights would take away my advantage of being able to see clearly at night.

For a moment, I contemplated landing at the front gate, flashing my gym leader ID and legally gaining access to the prison. That plan would certainly minimize damage to the ever-increasing rift between me and the other seven gym leaders. However, there would be protocols to follow and no doubt questions of my rather sudden appearance to answer. Tamara would be contacted. It could be several hours before I would be able to speak with Hastings.

Too slow.

I directed Honchkrow into a nosedive at the Arcanine nearest to the gate, but far enough away from the illuminated path that I would not be spotted immediately. I released Bree from her PokeBall as Honchkrow hit the Arcanine with a drill peck, and ordered a psychic before the Arcanine's human partner, a hefty man with a beard, could utter a world.

"The key card?" I asked Bree.

The guard's eyes bulged as a card fluttered from his pocket to my hand.

I spoke to my Umbreon softly as I returned Honchkrow to his PokeBall. "Bree, move the Arcanine's body and walk with the guard until someone notices your unusual presence. This shouldn't take long. When you're attacked, react accordingly." Bree nodded at me and forced the guard to walk awkwardly beside her.

I darted into the darkness towards the jail. I had between four and eight minutes until the Alakazam noticed the Arcanine or Bree's control over the prison guard. I had approximately another six minutes to use as Bree fended off attackers.

Not far from the entrance, I strode into the lamplight and walked confidently towards the entrance. On the off chance another prison guard caught a glimpse of me from a distance, I would likely be taken for another guard.

Flashing the key card at the scanner on the door gained me access to the building. The first prison guard I encountered I incapacitated with a strike to the jaw. The second guard I encountered was already asleep at his post.

I systematically walked through the narrow prison halls on the first floor, where Hastings was likely being held for the time. Upper and lower levels were typically reserved for prisoners already found guilty of their crimes.

Most of the prisoners I passed, like the second guard, were asleep. The few wake ones paid me no mind, perhaps falsely assuming I was an inspector.

To my surprise, at the end of the third hall, I peered into a cell to find a very awake Jamie Arkle peering right back.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, _Master?_"

An unfortunate turn of events I should have considered, I mused. From the security cameras I'd spotted along the walls, Tamara would certainly now know or further suspect my status within Team Glop'emm.

My former assistant looked more haggard than usual, with the dark dips beneath his eyes and his facial hair a centimeter longer than it was in our previous encounter.

My eyes darted to movement in the bed behind Arkle. Wild white hair, bifocals.

I blinked, surprised for the second time in a matter of seconds. Hastings.

"Where is Landon?"

Hastings sat up in his bed, looked at me, and began to giggle. His waist was thicker than it had been ten years ago and his skin was wizened.

"Didn't you get the memo? Your cousin died years ago," Arkle said, pressing his hands against the metal bars dividing us.

Continuing to gaze past Arkle, I pulled out Notal's PokeBall and pressed the release button. There was a flash of red within the cell. "On the old man," I ordered.

My Mightyena pounced on Hastings, sharply snapping his shoulder back onto the bed. She growled threateningly and snapped her jaws near his throat.

"What—"

"This does not concern you, Jamie," I said quietly. "Professor Hastings, you will tell me exactly what you have done to Landon and exactly where he is currently located, or my Mightyena will tear out your throat."

"Ah, so you've finally deemed torture an acceptable means of gaining information." Arkle sniffed. "My boy's growing—"

"Shut up." I didn't have time to deal with this crap. "Hastings, start talking."

The professor smiled dreamily. "She promised. She promised I could save my son, my son with hair the color of the sun just like my beautiful Abetzi. She promised I could save him if I raised the other boy. If I kept the other boy safe and quiet."

'She' could only refer to Celebi.

"She brought me back six years, six years before my son died on August 9, 2009." Once again, Hastings began laughing. Notal growled and pressed a paw against the professor's throat. He wheezed and then continued, "I had six years to raise and keep the boy. Wrote a lot. He was like a son. I always kept him inside, just like she wanted. He never left. Never, never." Hastings frowned. "He was a strange boy. Made me feel… I hit him when he was loud, when he whined. I never hit my son."

I struggled to control my breathing. "Where is he?"

"Six years later it was August 9th again. I could save my son; she had granted me that opportunity. I would have, if… But no, the boy locked me in my room. Boarded up the windows. Said he wanted me to feel what it was like to be cooped up the whole day. Took my Pokemon, too. That ten-year-old boy lived that day. He went sledding and eating and playing while my son died again." Hastings snickered. "When the boy let me out of my room two days later, I made sure he'd never escape again. He killed my son."

"Where is Landon?"

"The boy was strange. Liked to bleed. I was going to take away his Pokemon, but they began attacking him. His Houndoom was vicious—biting and clawing and—"

"Spare me the gory details. What have you done with Landon now?" I focused on a rectangular stone in the wall beside Hastings' head. I would not let my calm façade be destroyed, no matter how sick I felt. I would not allow Arkle to see any signs of weakness.

"Oh, but I haven't gotten to the best part. I thought perhaps she'd left the boy to unlock some mystery of traveling through time—she'd promised after all—I'd save me son. I performed some experiments and found something _was_ wrong with the boy. It wasn't my fault I always wanted to hit him—I'm not a violent person, you see—"

"Unfortunately for you, Professor Hastings, I am. Notal." I continued to stare at the stone as Notal bit down on the professor's ear. Hastings shrieked, surely awakening the other prisoners and nearby guards. Blood spattered onto the stone. "Where is Landon now?"

"Stop! Stop—I don't know where he is," Hastings sobbed. "One day he was slumped in my living room, chained to the wall. The next day he disappeared. Ask Niami Shivicle—she knows—she thought he was you when he escaped."

Loud footfalls were approaching quickly on my left. I returned Notal to her PokeBall for a moment and then released her outside the jail cell, by my side. Together we turned to our left and raced down the corridor, directly at the oncoming guards and Arcanines.

The two Arcanines leapt in front of the officers, clearly preparing to execute an Extreme Speed attack.

"Sucker punch," I ordered. Notal rammed the first Arcanine before his attack could hit, and neatly jumped over the second Arcanine, knocking both officers to the ground as she landed. The second Arcanine continued forward, jumping at me with claws outstretched. I dove under the Pokemon, colliding into one of the guards and bruising my arm.

The guard I'd hit twisted around to grab and pin me. I rolled over and landed a solid kick in his gut before jumping to my feet.

Notal charged past me. I turned my head in time to see the second Arcanine was leaping at me again. Notal hit the oversized dog's stomach midair, knocking the wind out of the Pokemon. Notal and I turned and fled.

Prisoners banged on the metal bars confining them as we ran past. Some begged to be released; others yelled profanities. We finally turned the last corner and reached the hall leading directly to the entrance. I stopped running. There were too many guards coming in. I snapped my head around. The two Arcanines that'd attacked us had recovered and were heading at us.

Tamara would be pissed at me after this.

"Notal, Strength." Notal ducked her head and rammed through the stone wall, leaving a gaping hole in the wall to the outside. I released Honchkrow, grabbing a hold of his feathers with one hand and returning Notal to her PokeBall with the other.

As Honchkrow took off, I spotted Bree battling the Alakazam near the front gate. "Night Slash the Alakazam," I said. Honchkrow nodded, quickly flying forward. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ducked down to minimize my air drag impedance.

As Honchkrow slashed a wing across the Alakazam's back, I returned Bree to her PokeBall. The Alakazam was knocked out.

"Hey, kid! What in Arceus's name are you doing?" a man yelled behind me.

"Honchkrow, let's go." As we flew upwards, I heard several guards cursing behind us. I knew we were being tailed when we departed from Zahavah City. Two Pidgeots and a Swellow. Neither had great night vision.

Losing them was a simple matter of landing in a tree on the outskirts of Apoosh forest and lying low until the Pokemon had flown past, oblivious.

I yawned as I climbed back onto Honchkrow's back, then shook my head. I couldn't afford to be tired. I had to find Landon. Without Hastings' input… Well, perhaps there was another way to locate Landon. Honchkrow turned his head around, giving me a questioning look.

"Drape Town. We're going home."


	47. Fighting the Irrashinal

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Hello all! I do apologize. I say one month and get you a chapter in two months, I say one week and get you a chapter in two... I'm sensing a rather unfortunate pattern here. This chapter WAS written, but late because I got revisions to my editor late, proceeded to argue with Reece for about a day and a half, and then left the revisions at my editor's apartment.

ANYWAY, I have a question for all you wonderful readers. I am considering writing a separate story containing Styx/Sticky's back story. I'm not sure if it would be a series of one-shots or a short multi-chapter fic, and I would not let it get in the way of updating this story. Would any of you be interested in reading such a story? I'm not even sure I would start it until after this one was complete.

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers and my seriously awesome editor. You guys rock!

mik317- Landon is not Mel. Mel is Professor Hastings' actual son (born when Professor Hastings traveled back in time). When Professor Hastings' thinks Mel dies, Celebi makes a deal with him- Professor Hastings is allowed to go back in time if he raises Landon and writes when he goes back several years. Landon is Professor Hastings' foster son (when Hastings goes back in time) and Liam's cousin. Note, there IS a time period when two Professor Hastings exist. Sorry for the confusion! You can reread the end of last chapter if this really doesn't do a good job of explaining it.

ChaosAngel4us- Thank you! And good assessment :)

StattStatt- :) Yeah, its hard to believe all of this is leading to something. But it is, just might be fifteen chapters or so, lol.

OBR- Glad to hear! And I don't mean to keep leaving you guys with cliffhangers, but pretty much anywhere I end a chapter is a cliffhanger at this point.

Sandy Star- Very nice! None of the non-internet people I know of who read this figured it out (can't speak for internet people who may have followed the clues like you!). Ah, and thanks for pointing out the mistake- I fixed it. It's super helpful when I get mistakes pointed out now (rather than in a year) because it's a lot easier for me to change chapters before the 60 day document loader expires.

Silvermist464- Thanks for adding me! :)

In other news, because of my progressively more hectic life, it is unlikely the next chapter will be out before August 1st. I'll do my best to get it out sooner, but between packing, getting to Australia, and a birthday celebration, It could be a bit. On the other hand, I have a 24 hour plane ride ahead of me and am unable to sleep on planes-so a month from now is possible, but improbable.

Again, I cannot thank you guys enough. Thanks for sticking with this- I promise to not stop writing it until it is complete.

_Previously on An Apple a Day:_

Reece and Carly were rewarded for helping Jamie Arkle in Nelcorn City. Reece's reward was a Gallade and Carly's reward was to be in a Cereal City catwalk.

While reviewing security footage Tamara Lilac, the psychic gym leader of Zahavah City, discovers a plot created by Jamie Arkle and implemented by Reece.

After traveling back in time and rescuing his cousin, Landon, Liam is forced by Celebi to return to his own time. Liam is determined to find Landon and leaves Artemis Town. He goes to Zahavah City to interrogate Professor Hastings, the man Landon was left with, but is unable to gain any information. Liam decides to return to Drape Town, where he can utilize the resources of Team Glop'emm.

Meanwhile Erin, Dustin, Styx, and Anita have a nice long chat about what exactly Anita is up to. She claims to be "running errands" for Mew. It is discovered that Styx is a Ditto. Dustin receives a psychic call from Tamara- Cereal City is under attack.

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Chapter 44: Fighting the Irr-ash-inal

"If this escapade of yours disrupts the _New Blue_ catwalk planned for tomorrow that _I'm_ starring in, I'll throttle you till your brains pop out," Carly threatened as we walked into Cereal City's town square.

Rather, I walked. Carly did that thing where she sashayed her hips, making her miniskirt bounce teasingly. So impractical for _this_ type of escapade, but that's just how Carly was. In middle school, she wore a sundress on our class skiing trip.

"Reece!" Carly snapped her fingers. She'd stopped walking, standing in front of the Cereal City fountain with a hand on her hip. "Hurry up. I want to go home sometime tonight."

I took just a moment longer to admire her silhouette in the streetlight—it was like one of those Met-I-Pod MP3 player commercials.

"Reece!" I sighed, maneuvering my arms so my bag fell to the ground. I tugged at the drawstring until the hundreds of PokeBalls within rolled out, spilling across the cement between Carly and me.

"Gallade, psychic," I ordered. The stoic as shit psychic Pokemon flickered to my side. Suddenly, the whole fountain gleamed red as the PokeBalls' release buttons were pressed.

"WHAT THE FUCK, REECE!" Carly screeched. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WAIT UNTIL WE WERE FAR AWAY FROM THESE MONSTERS!"

I shrugged, fighting a snicker as I watched Carly's tantrum. Sure, we were surrounded by the hundreds of poison Pokemon we'd captured in Globert Town, but they'd all been brainwashed by Gallade's hypnosis. Like, super brainwashed. They wouldn't attack Carly or me—just Cereal City and its inhabitants.

My snicker came out came out; I couldn't help it when Carly tried to stomp her foot in anger, only to realize she'd stepped in a Grimer's slime trail and her pretty black heel was stuck. "REECE, GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

{We must complete the next phase,} Gallade said.

Scrunching my nose at the disgusting smell accumulating in the area, I turned to the Pokemon. "What phase?"

The Weezing, Swalot, and two Trubbishes released closest to Gallade were fleeing away from the fountain faster than the other poison Pokemon. He gave off an aura nobody wanted to be anywhere near. Guess we had that in common.

{We are to break Mr. Arkle out of jail. He gave me the signal during your video session.}

"Alright, whatever." Carly had taken off the slime-covered heel and was now using it to swat at a Koffing floating by her head. I smirked. With all the movement, the top of her bra peeked out from under her sleeveless top. Could the woman get any less classy?

"IDIOT, WILL YOU QUIT STARING AT MY BOOBS AND HELP ME ALREADY!" Carly pointed the heel in her hand at me.

"We've got to go get that Arkle guy out of jail, according to Gallade," I said.

"_WE? _Are you kidding me! I'm not doing any more for that psycho—I'm the one who needs rescuing, not him! And do you see the damage he's done to these shoes—"

I felt a light squeeze on my shoulder and turned my head just in time to see Gallade looming next to me. There was a faint popping noise, and suddenly Carly was no longer standing in front of me.

An alarm was blaring. Red lights blinked.

To my right, Gallade's knees wobbled and he collapsed to the tiled floor. "What the hell's going on?" I asked. "Where are we?"

{Tamara Lilac's house. PokeBalls in kitchen safe, get them to get Arkle…} Gallade's eyes closed.

The alarm was making my head hurt. Man, I was not cut out for this type of crap. Seriously, breaking into the psychic gym leader's house. I'd be caught and then arrested. Hopefully, I wouldn't be put in a cell with Arkle.

Shit, there weren't any women in jail. And I sucked at talking to guys. Maybe there'd be a cute female guard—

{Even at a time like this, still thinking of how to get laid. You truly are a pitiful creature.}

Geeze, I thought he was knocked out. "Eff off. The only way you're ever getting laid is if you bewitch the poor soul with your hypnotism—"

{The kitchen safe, Mr. Dracuta.}

"Do it yourself."

{Too tired… can't move or psychically feel…}

I returned Gallade to his PokeBall. If he was all out of psychic mojo from teleporting us halfway across the country, he'd be useless when security showed up, and I'd rather not hear his nagging in my head.

I scratched my shoulder, looking around. I was in a hallway with windows and one side and three doors on the other. To my right was an open doorway. Through it, I saw a refrigerator. The kitchen.

I paused a moment. Was this really worth it?

Well, the police were coming either way, and in Zahavah City, police were no joke—the city's own psychic Pokemon army, pretty much. I'd only have a way out of this mess if I miraculously found the safe, opened the safe, and the PokeBalls within actually helped release Arkle and get out of here. Sighing, I released the Stunky that wouldn't quit following me in Globert Town from his PokeBall, along with Tangela and Bagon.

"Stunky, cover the door. Bagon and Tangela, with me in the kitchen—"

A Kadabra flickered in front of me, psychically shoving me through the kitchen doorway. I hit the refrigerator door hard, slumping to the ground.

My vision got hazy for a moment, but I saw Stunky leap forward with outstretched claws and take down the Pokemon in one swipe. Useful little stinkball.

I must have blacked out because the next time I opened my eyes there were half a dozen knocked out psychic Pokemon on the kitchen floor. A cabinet had been moved in front of the single entrance, and Tangela's vines whipped wildly about the room. Stunky stood growling under the kitchen table.

When I stood up, I realized I'd been leaning against my newly-evolved Shelgon.

Suddenly, three Ralts teleported into the room. Tangela's vines immediately wrapped around all three psychic Pokemon, holding them still while Stunky slashed across the torsos of two of the Pokemon and Shelgon bit down on the third's arm.

I heard arguing voices outside. The police, probably.

Aw, shit. I still had to find that safe.

I began shuffling through the cabinets nearest to me, letting pots and Tupperware clatter on the kitchen floor. "A little help, Tangela," I said. Several of the wild vines wrapped around every drawer and cabinet door's handle. There was a loud crash as the doors were ripped off their hinges and the kitchenware spilled out all over the place.

I scanned the empty cabinets and the crap all over the kitchen floor. No safe I could see.

Two Kirlia appeared. Tangela was unable to wrap his vines around the Pokemon before they put up psychic barriers. Stunky took down one of the Kirlia, slashing at its face until it blacked out. Tangela and Shelgon took down the other Kirlia, but not before Tangela was knocked out by a psychic.

I opened the oven, feeling the doom seep into my stomach. Without Tangela, the psychic Pokemon couldn't be immediately subdued when they teleported into the kitchen. No safe in the oven.

Stunky had slashed down the picture frames on the walls. No secret compartments behind them. Damn it, if Gallade had waited thirty seconds for me to grab my bag off the ground before teleporting us, I'd have a few hyper potions up my sleeve. Green ass-wiping, headache-causing—

I yanked at the microwave door.

It wouldn't budge.

You gotta be kidding me. The microwave?

Lucky for me, I now had a Pokemon with one of the hardest skins. "Shelgon, headbutt it."

It took three more hits for the microwave door to splinter. The impact also broke two of the PokeBalls within the safe.

A Hypno and Magnemite materialized. Almost immediately, the alarm shut off.

{No way did the pipsqueak here break in on his own,} the Hypno said, projecting her thoughts to me even though she was clearly talking to the Magnemite. {We're in Tamara Lilac's shithole. She's set up some sort of barrier so even teleporting inside this place sucks up a ton of psychic energy.} The Hypno turned her gaze to me, questioning.

"Look, Gallade just brought me here to bust the Team Glop'emm Arkle dude out of jail. _I_ just want out of here. Gallade thought you'd help, so help!"

There were three more flashes of red. A Togekiss, Porygon2, and Yanmega were released.

Hypno caught my eye. The room blurred. Flashes of memories of Arkle and Gallade surfaced for a moment, and then I was suddenly back in the messy kitchen. I stumbled backwards, tripping over a pot. Stunky jumped between me and the Hypno, growling.

{We will break out of the house. You will return all of us but Skampi—the Togekiss—and Yanmega to our PokeBalls. Then you will fly on Skampi to jail and release all of us to break Jamie Arkle out. You will also take the other PokeBalls in the safe with you. Understood?}

"Uh, sure. But how am I going to carry all of those PokeBalls? I've only got six clips."

{If you can't figure out how to transport a dozen PokeBalls while surrounded by hundreds of Tupperware pieces, you don't deserve to make it out of here alive.}

"Err, Roger." I collected the PokeBalls in a plastic piece I found near my feet and climbed onto the Togekiss's back. "So why are you helping Arkle? Are you Team Glop'emm's Pokemon?"

{Don't confuse us with that filth. We belong to Jamie Arkle.}

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ *

Flying in the moonlight was like cuddling with Fiery in front of a fan. My back tingled where the moonlight hit my fur and the wind chilled my neck pleasantly. It was exhilarating.

Which was more than I could say about watching the normal gym leaders plan the rescue of Cereal City from the backs of their puffed-up Pidgeots (Pidg-idiots, I'd call them) and Noctowls (Noct-fouls). The flying Pokemon were arguing about which of the trainers on their backs would be the first to fall victim to the poisonous fumes when they landed. The Pidgeot Anita and I were riding on was adamant Anita would be the first to go.

The bird Pokemon, however, weren't half as incompetent as Dustin and Tali, who'd incidentally forgotten extra gas cloth for Anita and Erin. Tali gave hers to Erin as Tali planned on directing the moronic birds from above, leaving Anita to create a bubble-like barrier around her head before entering the city. The Pidgeot didn't believe Anita was capable of this feat, thus his vote of confidence.

I peered over the Pidgeot's wings at the city we'd been circling, only half listening to Tali's orders of who was being assigned to what and Dustin's arguments with her decisions.

From my sharply improved nocturnal vision, I could see the roads below speckled with hundreds, maybe thousands, of poison Pokemon. Purple fumes clouded the air in various alleys and the large water fountain in the center of the city gleamed a radioactive green. Paradise for a poison Pokemon. Long painful demise for the rest of us… unless of course, you were a steel Pokemon and didn't give a metallic pooh one way or the other.

A shift in the wind bumped my attention back to Dustin and Tali

Dustin was complaining, "C'mon, Tali—"

"You're in a _cast_," Tali interrupted. "I swear on Arceaus if I see you lay a threatening pinky finger on an enemy poison Pokemon, I will see to it that you're knocked unconscious and flown back to Artemis Town faster than you can say _Extremespeed_. Understand?"

Wow, point Tali. Dustin looked thoroughly subdued.

"Everyone understand the assignments?" Tali asked.

Well, I hadn't been paying attention, but if I shifted so Anita's hand wasn't rubbing up against my leg I could take a peek into her mind—a very brief peek, that is. Due to the nasty-Celeibi-steals my-psychic-powers-to-time-travel part of my life, the pinnacle of my power at the moment was telepathy. Barrier creation and telekinesis remained elusive.

"So the best way to stop all the poison Pokemon would be to catch them. Do you expect me and Erin to what—break into the PokeMart or something to get that many PokeBalls?" Anita asked. Guess I didn't need to peep into her mind to know what we'd be doing.

"The Artemis Town gym will refund you for any expenses," Tali replied, deadpan.

"I can't tell if she's serious," Anita whispered to me. She suddenly grabbed onto my fur as we plummeted to the ground.

Of course, the Pidgeot we were riding _would_ have kindly forgotten to warn us.

As the Pidgeot dove, Anita pushed me forward slightly so we weren't touching, enabling her to create a barrier air bubble around her head.

{Apple, what about you?} Probing her mind slightly, I found she had tried and failed to put a barrier around my head, having forgotten I was now a dark Pokemon.

{I'll be able to breathe.} Pokemon had a higher tolerance to poison than humans. We didn't _always_ get poisoned after breathing poisonous fumes.

I took a moment to peek into Anita's mind to see what the game plan was. We were on Pokemon cleanup with Erin and her gang. Dustin and Styx were on antidote distribution and medical help for humans and Pokemon. Tali would be directing the flying Pokemon in creating air-paths to disperse the fumes all over the city.

All scenarios considered, I decided we got the best job. Where all the action would be.

Anita and I were abruptly thrown off of the Pidgeot as it performed a barrel spin in midair some nine feet off the ground. I turned in the air, spreading my paws to lessen the impact. Anita created something of a psychic slide barrier, spiraling in a wide arc to prevent a crash landing.

Pride swelled in my chest. She was constantly improving.

The Noctowl Erin was riding, of course, landed and allowed her to dismount before taking off again.

Eh, at least we were dropped by the PokeMart and not directly on poison Pokemon.

"Someone got here before us," Anita said grimly, pointing out the open door and broken windows. A Muk slunk slowly through the doorway, noticing us.

"I don't think a Muk could have broken in like that," Erin said. "The windows look like they were smashed in."

I perked my ears, irked I couldn't count on my psychic powers to perform a task as remedial as counting how many poison Pokemon were headed our direction. Stupid Celebi.

My _ears _counted nine incoming Pokemon.

Erin and Anita released their Pokemon as the Muk spit sludge at us. Anita threw up a psychic barrier. As Fiery materialized in a flash of red, a piece of the large air bubble surrounding Anita's head broke off to surround his. The same happened to my other teammates as they appeared.

"Why did it attack?" Erin asked, waving Griffy to execute a psychic attack. The Muk was repeated thrown against the ground until it resembled a splattered paintball. "We didn't do anything to—Griffy, I ordered a psychic attack, not a mauling of the poor thing!"

I'm not exactly sure how she could think of a Muk trying to poison us as a 'poor thing.'

{My apologies, Miss. My attention will not slip again.} Griffy said, turning to face the incoming poison Pokemon. What he failed to mention was that his tail had temporarily taken control of the situation. His own attention had been split between the Muk's attack and trapping air psychically some hundred feet above where the air was cleaner so he could safely breathe.

I turned to greet Fiery, who'd been released beside me, but he was busy shaking his head, trying to break the psychic bubble around his head. Beside him, Sunflower and Allo sat facing Anita, waiting for instructions while Splash amused himself by bouncing electricity off of the surface inside his head-bubble. Vanilla looked like she'd already passed out. As she wasn't near any poisonous puddles and the psychic bubble around her head looked intact, she was probably faking in an attempt to be returned to her PokeBall, away from this stinky town.

"So here's the deal," Anita said, looking at Allo and Sunflower, who seemed most likely to listen. Missy floated beside them, mocking their attentiveness with wide eyes. "There're poison Pokemon everywhere. Its up to you guys to hold them off while Erin and I grab PokeBalls from—"

"Are you trying to suffocate me?" Fiery asked, panting. Ah, because he was a fire Pokemon, oxygen around his body burned up quickly. With the barrier around his head, he wouldn't be able to breathe soon.

I grinned. Well, I could help.

I took the opportunity to push my nose through the barrier into the soft fur under Fiery's chin where I knew he was ticklish. Fiery leapt back growling, hackles raised.

"Who the hell are you?" He released a warning ember at my feet, which I sidestepped.

"Guys," Anita said, at a loss of what to do. She couldn't put a barrier up between us that would stop me from attacking.

Splash jumped between Fiery and me before I could retaliate. "Stop it! It's Apple—she evolved."

"Doesn't smell like Apple," Fiery snarled. Seriously, who could smell anything here but the nasty Grimers and Trubbishes? "I've never met this Pokemon—"

{You're the one who figured out I wasn't what I appeared,} I said to Fiery, raising an eyebrow at him over Splash's spiky back.

Fiery relaxed from his attacking stance, pointedly looking away from me. Maybe he was embarrassed he'd forgotten I wasn't an Eevee. Or maybe he hadn't forgotten at all. Maybe he'd never actually believed his own accusations.

"I know this is Apple—I even helped her evolve," Splash earnestly told Fiery. "C'mon, brother, everyone knows Eevees evolve into Umbreons when electrocuted!" _That_ drew everyone's attention. Even Vanilla 'awoke' from the unconsciousness to give Splash an incredulous look.

{My child, I fear for your sanity,} Griffy's tail said. The tail then proceeded to repeatedly bang the psychic air bubble encompassing its head that Griffy had provided on a poison coated rock in an attempt to lick the toxic substance.

"I think the fumes are interfering with your sense of smell," I said aloud, walking around Fiery until he was facing me. "I'm Apple."

Allo and a few of the other Pokemon murmured in agreement.

Suddenly, Fiery and his siblings all winced, and turned their attention to Anita. I blinked, realizing Anita wasn't the only one forgetting I was a dark-typed Pokemon now. I had to consciously remember to open my mind, or I wouldn't hear Anita's thoughts. Anita pointed past us.

I looked over my shoulder. There were four Arboks, a Muk, and six Trubbishes coming out of the shrubbery towards us. Clearly, my ears had miscounted.

"Maybe they're not here to attack?" Sunflower whispered nervously. The Muk sent a sludge bomb at us and we dispersed, leaping into motion.

My tail alight, I went after an Arbok, battering away the poisonous barbs it shot at me with my tail. I felt for the Arbok's thoughts, trying to sense why the poison Pokemon were attacking, but the Arbok's mind was oddly blank. "Hey, snake-face. You brain-dead?"

The Arbok's response was to lunge at me, jaws wide.

I spun, knocking the snake's two front teeth out with my tail. I followed up with a tackle from behind, and once the Arbok was down, I bounced on the Pokemon until I knew he was out cold.

I turned to face another opponent, but found most of the poison Pokemon around us were already down. Two Arboks lied tangled at Griffy's hooves, and another near Allo and Sunflower was literally tied in a knot. From their burnt exterior, it looked as if the Trubbishes had been taken down by Fiery and Splash. Splash stood over one of the Trubbishes with a paw on its stomach. "Looks like we took out the trash," he proudly declared. Vanilla put a paw over her face.

The only attacking Pokemon still up and kicking—or rather, spurting sludge—was the Muk, who was now encased in a psychic prison. Anita squatted next to the Pokemon, a hand in her mess of hair.

"I can't read its mind," she said. "It's like nothing's in there."

{It was the same with the Arbok I battled,} I said, padding over to Anita. {Where'd Missy go? See if she can get into—}

"Zombie!" Splash squealed. There was a sharp crackle as he electrocuted one of the Trubbishes.

Fiery tackled Splash. "What are you doing? I've taught you better than to attack an unconscious Poke—"

"Look, he's not unconscious," Splash said, struggling to get out from under Fiery. We all looked. Said Trubbish was getting up again, despite its burnt feet and bruised body. The other Trubbishes were also rising. Fiery got off of Splash, firing a flamethrower at the lot of them.

The stench was horrible, like burning garbage. Well, I guess that's what it actually was.

For a moment, the Trubbishes were still. Then one's arm twitched. It started to get up again. Guess Splash's zombie assessment was accurate.

"Shit," Anita said. "And there are more coming. Does anyone know what's wrong with these Pokemon?"

{Oven-roasted rabies,} Griffy's tail offered.

"I would guess hypnosis, Miss, but this appears to be something deeper. As you said, their minds are completely blank," Griffy said, eyeing the Trubbishes warily.

"More like mind control," I said. I paced over to Sunflower, who was gingerly sniffing one of the two tangled Arboks. "When Pokemon become exhausted, they faint. The fainting mechanism in their brain has been shut off or something—at this rate, they'll kill themselves." The Arbok opened its eyes. I hit it with an iron tail, temporarily knocking it out again.

Vanilla jumped behind Allo when the knotted Arbok started to squirm.

This was ridiculous. It was as if we were in one of those scary movies Anita and I used to sneak downstairs to watch after her mother went to bed on the weekends. Only a lot stinkier.

Suddenly, Erin ran out of the PokeMart with Missy floating behind her, their arms full of PokeBalls. Tweal followed, but faced the PokeMart, as if something might attack at any time. "Sorry," she gasped, dropping the PokeBalls at Anita's feet. "We ran into poison Pokemon inside—they poisoned Wella pretty bad. I couldn't find any antidotes. From the look of it, someone already broke in and took them."

Anita grabbed a PokeBall and threw it at a fried Trubbish.

The ball bounced off harmlessly. She frowned and threw another PokeBall at a different Trubbish. Another failure.

She tried once more, this time aiming at an Arbok. The same result. Fiery and I exchanged looks of horror.

"Why…?" Erin asked.

Anita closed her eyes and grimaced. "If we can't catch them it means only one thing. They've already been caught."

A moment of silence. We could all hear the bushes rustling as more poison Pokemon approached.

"I hate doing chores twice," Splash said grimly. Nobody laughed.

I ducked a glob of sludge and rushed towards the bushes to meet my opponent.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

I sensed a Grimer approaching from behind me and put a barrier through it, not bothering to look. This seemed to be the most effective way of dealing with Grimers and Muks—it stopped them for as long as it took to meld their bodies back together. Crouching down, I dodged the poisonous fangs of an Arbok with a particularly gruesome looking face on its neck.

The second Arbok I'd been battling took the opportunity to lunge at me, but I managed to put up a barrier between us before I took a hit.

Getting to my feet, I realized I'd rolled through a sludge puddle and now had a gaping hole on the back of my shirt. The skin on my back felt tender, but I had no time to worry about it as gruesome Arbok was coiling, preparing to spring at me.

I felt tired. My limbs were sore and I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to hold up all of the air bubble barriers. The air in my bubble already tasted stale so maybe it didn't matter.

The Arbok struck out at me fast, but not as fast as Liam could kick. I dodged, putting an elbow in his gut and knocking him out. Yay, he'd stay down for all of four seconds.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sunflower battling two Grimers, backed up against a brick apartment building. She was the only one of my Pokemon I'd been able to keep track of. Sunflower went the only direction she could go—down. She dug underground and popped up underneath the Grimer to her left, hitting it with my protective psychic air bubble. For quite some time now, she'd been using this technique—it proved very effective because of poison's weakness to ground moves.

Arbok number two had recovered from ramming into my barrier and tried to grab me with its tail. I trapped the poison Pokemon in a dome shaped barrier before it could strike and pressed into its mind.

Blank as usual.

I sensed Sunflower in pain and snapped back into my body. I leapt over a Gulpin and thrust a barrier between Sunflower and the second Grimer she'd been fighting. A Muk slithered towards Sunflower, approaching my barrier where the Grimer was now spitting sludge in a feeble attempt to break through. She shot a shadow ball through my barrier, hitting the Grimer while the Muk ducked. The Grimer collapsed, but the Muk moved faster towards the barrier.

I sprinted forward, my stomach twisting even though I couldn't read the Muk's blank mind.

The Muk made a fist and punched right through my barrier. Brick break.

I was faster than the Muk. Fast enough to run by the poison Pokemon, grab Sunflower by the scruff of her neck, and pound my legs into the cement road, putting as much distance between us and the poison Pokemon as possible.

I could feel Sunflower shaking in my arms, even as she was jostled by my uneven steps. Poisoned. {You okay?} I asked. I sensed sludge shooting at me from two directions and couldn't dodge both. Poisonous droplets hit the back of my leg and sizzled.

My breath was raspy. I would run out of air soon. A short break. That was what I needed. I could heal Sunflower and check up on Erin and my Pokemon—I swiveled into an empty-feeling alley, panting. Quickly, I pulled out the last of my antidotes and fed Sunflower.

I reached my mind out. Fiery and Allo were still battling. Splash was knocked out. Vanilla had pulled Splash into some brush and stood over him, covered in grime and snarling at the Trubbishes attacking the two of them. I vaguely sensed Erin, but she was too far away to know how she was doing. I couldn't feel Apple at all. My chest squeezed.

Sunflower stopped shaking. {I'm fine,} she said. I fished in my bag for a potion anyway.

This was bad. We needed a plan—a plan better than this attack-run-recover-repeat plan. Damn it, if Liam were here…

Liam couldn't do anything against these guys either. Punching Grimers just didn't do much. I guess he'd be able to see the poison Pokemon in the dark, but sensing them with my gift had just about the same effect.

Liam would have a plan, though, another part of my mind argued. He'd review the facts, come up with something.

I found a potion and fed it to Sunflower. My hands were shaking.

And what facts did I know? The poison Pokemon were brainwashed. They belonged to someone. Somewhere, they had to have PokeBalls.

Why attack a city with poison Pokemon? Poison was dangerous, but not as immediately destructive as say, fire or a barrage of fighting Pokemon.

_Poison Pokemon tend to be attracted to poison_, I remembered from middle school. That was why there were very few poison Pokemon found outside of Globert City in Acceber—they were all drawn to the polluting factories in Globert as well as the other poison Pokemon…

An idea dawned on me.

{Anita,} Sunflower warned, shifting in my arms. Something smelled like death roasted in acid. I turned to find a giant Garbodor looming over Sunflower and me, blocking the exit from the alley. I was sure I would die of the smell—

I could smell. Shit, that meant I'd released my air bubble when I hadn't been focusing. It wasn't just mine—I'd released the others, too.

I threw up a barrier in front of the Garbodor.

Sunflower attacked with a shadow ball, trying to drive back the poisonous monster from afar. It didn't work.

The Garbodor pounded on the barrier. I gulped, my heartbeat racing, and searched for doors in the narrow alley—any way to escape. There were none. A wall blocked the end of the alley. Maybe I could climb onto the dumpster in front of the dead end and toss Sunflower over the wall. Then at least one of us would be saved.

Sunflower jumped out of my arms in front of me, growling at the monstrous Pokemon. In a movie it would have looked hilarious—a small, adorable Eevee trying to intimidate this mass of garbage.

The Garbodor pounded its dripping fists on the barrier again. {Garbage! Garbage!}

I froze. "I can hear his thoughts," I said in utter surprise. I could sense he _was_ a he. {Hello?} I asked. I felt his intense hunger, his yearning for the dumpster at the end of the alley.

{Garbage!}

"Sunflower, move here." We backed up against the side of the alley and I released the barrier. Quickly, I created a new one that sandwiched Sunflower and me against the alley wall. The barrier was so tight, my nose brushed up against it.

The Garbodor ignored us, squeezing past the barrier to wolf down the garbage at the back of the alley.

As soon as the Garbodor had passed, Sunflower and I bolted from the alley. {What was different about that Garbodor?} I asked Sunflower.

She couldn't think of anything. I stopped running. "Keep on guard," I said, backing up to a tree that hadn't yet been covered in sludge. I sent my mind to the Garbodor, shuffling through his memories as he shuffled through the trash.

Oddly, he didn't have much of a recollection of the past couple of hours—some blurry movements, and one particularly delicious smelling group of Muks that were firing toxic into a broken pipe.

I could feel my energy seeping away. With all the barriers I'd been creating and a lack of bond with the Garbodor, I'd be done for soon.

I found a clearer memory. Being woken up by surprise. Caught. A Gallade's purple eyes.

_Like mind control_, I could hear Apple saying. What if Griffy's hypnosis theory was on the right track—if this was a psychic attack…

"Sunflower, have the Pokemon you've been battling been rising again?" I asked, too tired to ask her telepathically. The raw skin on my legs stung when a gust of wind blew past us.

At my feet, Sunflower shrugged.

"We could go check…" I looked over my shoulder, squinting from behind the tree down the street. There were definitely more poison Pokemon than we could handle if we ran in the open.

A stray Grimer sat near us in the middle of the street, exuding a purple gas and looking very constipated. The Grimer looked up and spotted me, and immediately spouted sludge. Sunflower and I ducked back behind the flimsy tree.

Well, this could work.

"Shadow ball it 'till it's down," I ordered.

Sunflower's attacks went through the tree, and the Grimer couldn't retaliate from the other side. Three attacks later, the Grimer appeared to be out cold.

We waited. No movement.

Abruptly, I felt Griffy's presence in my mind. {Excuse me, Miss Anita, for intruding. I bring news of utmost importance—you see, Missy is able to dispel the mindlessness—}

{Save it,} I said, looking pointedly at the Grimer. Griffy found my memory of Sunflower attacking.

{Ah, well pardon my intrusion—}

{Wait, Griffy. There's something I need you to show Erin and Apple—or if you can't reach Apple, then Fiery.}

Griffy shuffled through my mental images the way a child flips through a picture book: harshly, tearing out pages. I winced.

{A good plan. I will relay it immediately,} Griffy said promptly. As I turned my focus back to Sunflower, who was pawing at my shoelaces in concern, the tiniest echo of Griffy's tail telepathically bounced through my mind, a voice mocking Griffy's formal manner of speech. {Panic not, young sprout. Soon arrives the shrub of doom.}

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ *

"So do you get paid by the hour to babysit me?" the Master lookalike said. He sat under the office window, leaning his head against the wall.

Already leaning towards the laptop on the Master's desk, I lifted my hands to my scalp, lightly pinching my hair roots. The boy was infuriating. _No,_ I wanted to snap. _I'm getting paid to run a detailed DNA scan on the sample automatically taken when you pressed your grubby finger to the scanner on this office's door._ I ran a hand through my hair, briefly examining the blue tips before glancing past the laptop once again.

The boy smirked at me. The urge to strangle the kid simmered in my chest, but I calmed myself by shifting my gaze to the partially completed DNA scan results flickering across the computer screen. No complete matches found in Acceber.

Irritated, I exhaled through my nose. It would be hours before the scan of other regions was complete. And the scan only covered about twenty percent of the population—only citizens who'd had maternity or paternity tests, who'd been tested for diseases—and of those only the systems Team Glop'emm could hack into—

"I'm surprised you haven't snapped yet. Like a twig."

Calm, Rita. Calm. Although the boy had not answered a single one of my questions and this test was unlikely to yield positive results, I'd at least gained some information. DNA testing proved that this lookalike _was_ related to the Master—a cousin or brother. The only reason I hadn't thrown this halfwit in a cell yet was _because_ he had a blood relation to the Master.

I could just rip the walkie talkie from his hands. Rip his hands.

My hands went back up to my scalp. Something was wrong with me. Or wrong with him.

I had to get out of this office, get away from this kid to clear my head. No, I couldn't leave. I couldn't leave him alone in the Master's office.

The kid started to laugh.

A pressure I hadn't realized was gripping my stomach loosened its hold. I looked at the boy again. Really looked. He was skinny—much too skinny for a teenager his age. The cloak he'd taken when he first entered the base seemed to engulf him, pooling around his arms and legs on the floor. His hair was shaggy, maybe shoulder length. And his eyes. Well, his eyes could be mistaken for the Master's. I guess I'd already made that mistake.

The boy was shaking with laughter. "Hilarious—the first person I've encountered in years able to resist _works_ for Team Glop'em. Some irony."

"Enough of this," I said, interrupting his laughter and bringing my hands back to the Master's desk. "I will ask you again to please hand over the walkie talkie." It was strange, I thought, how my attention had been diverted for so long. I needed to tell the Master of this intruder. I moved my hand to my lab coat's pocket, where my PokeBalls were stored. I'd have Jilly or Spud restrain and question the boy—

I gasped. Doubling over in my chair and digging my fingernails against my palms to keep myself from lashing out. Don't hurt the brat. Don't dig those fingernails into his throat—

I squeezed my eyes shut, recalling the tune I'd made to remember the family names of RNA viruses in med school… _Sequiviridae, Marnavidae, Iflaviridaeeeee. Picornaviridae includes the common cold, don't you saaaay. Caliciviridae_—

The pressure dissipated once again. I opened my eyes and found the kid had walked across the room, examining the scripture that had hung in this office for as long as I worked here—before the current Master became Master.

Who exactly was this kid? And that strange, malignant pressure. Was he the cause? Or perhaps some strange drug was slipped into my meal earlier—it wouldn't be the first time something so underhanded occurred within the ranks of Team Glop'emm.

"The realm of irony has no limits," the kid murmured. He caught me squinting past him at the scripture, trying to read the words. He smiled. "Curious?"

No, I was more _curious_ about where this kid came from, why he was sitting with me in his office, how he was related to the Master, why I couldn't seem to rid myself of these violent urges—

"Let me read it to you. It was one of my foster Father's favorites." Fury rose in my chest again. Blind, senseless fury. I was digging my fingernails into my hand so hard my palms were bleeding. I couldn't stop it any more, couldn't—shoving the rolling chair aside, I lunged towards the kid.

He ducked my arm swipe. "From Dust to Ash," the boy began, twisting away from another swipe. "Floating, beaming, perhaps unwoken." He slid under my arm, behind me.

"A legend of which is hardly spoken."

I spun around.

"Waiting to combust."

Swipe.

"Turn to dust."

Punch.

"Remain a cycle unbroken."

The boy easily evaded my attacks. Some part of me, whispering in the back of my head was thankful. I lunged again. This time, the boy jumped back and hefted his body up onto the desk. He held an arm outstretched, his palm facing me.

"However halt instead—" The pressure suddenly drained as quickly as it had come. I felt nauseous. "—with darkness through head." Exhausted, I slumped against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor. The boy jumped down from the desk towards me.

"Cut and slash. Darken ash." He crouched down in front of me—so close I could reach out and touch the bags under his eyes. The boy tilted his head. "Who weeps for the dead?"

"A quality performance," I muttered. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the flicker of a small smile. I drew my lab coat around my body tightly, trying to alleviate the nausea.

There was a soft buzzing on my computer. The boy glanced at it.

I sighed, relieved. "The Master's home," I said.

"When did you call him?"

"I didn't." It was luck. I abruptly remembered he still didn't know about the broken tracking device. Perhaps it was misfortune.

The boy rose.

"Be careful when he confronts you," I said, leaning my head back against the wall. "Doing this…" I waved at my head. "…_trick_… to him… Well, I wouldn't want him to snap you… like a twig."


	48. Venomous

{{{{{{{{{_  
_

As always lately, I apologize for my tardiness. Moving to another country's a bit hectic. This is my first post from the outback! Thanks for your feedback on Styx/Sticky. It'll likely be my next project.

Just a reminder about what symbols mean:

{} = telepathy

o ~ o = character pov change (used to b but ff's gone cooky on me)

_Italics_ = dreams, memories

StattStatt- Thank you! Yeah, I've planned this out very carefully because I greatly dislike stories with plotholes...

japaneserockergirl- Glad you caught up! :)

ChaosAngel4us- Thank you. The Styx/Sticky story will definitely be my next project (but hopefully about a fourth of this size).

Sandy Star- Yeah, Landon's power's pretty freaky. Will do on the Styx story :)

Hell of a Time- The only thing I dislike more than plot holes are stories that the author stops writing. I PROMISE I will finish writing this story.

Last Warrior 7 - Thank you, I seriously appreciate criticism. I agree and think Reece's point of view could be better. I struggle to write from his perspective-this is all part of the writing process and I'm still learning so thanks for letting me know what's not working. I did make up the inscription on the wall, thank you for the compliment. You'll understand why Rita became upset with Landon after this chapter. A brief explanation of Liam's first dead Eevee...

Growing up, Liam's first Eevee was murdered by the ex-ex-Master of Team Glop'emm (the Master before Liam's father, Velkan, was Master). Killing the Eevee was revenge for Velkan's manipulation of the Master's life to the point she felt she had to forfeit her position as Master. He later was given another Eevee.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers who have stuck with me through all the long waits. Seriously, you guys rock.

_Previously on An Apple a Day__  
_

Liam flies away from Artemis Town to interrogate Professor Hastings about the whereabouts of his cousin, Landon, who he saved when brought back in time by Celebi. He gains no new information from Hastings and decides to return to Team Glop'emm headquarters to utilize resources like the tracking device.

Carly and Reece capture several hundred poison Pokemon and release them into Cereal City. Reece goes on to release Jamie Arkle and Professor Hastings from prison. Carly remains in Cereal City.

After escaping his foster father, Professor Hastings, Landon Mendol goes to Drape Town where he enters Team Glop'emm headquarters. Despite their similar appearances, Professor Rita Teal recognizes Landon is not the Master and locks herself and Landon in the Master's office. She gives in to violent urges when Landon reads her a chilling poem that hangs on the Master's wall.

After much battling in Cereal City, Anita figures out the poison Pokemon have been brainwashed/severely hypnotized. The battle continues...

}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 45: Venomous

"Anita, we're going to draw half of them away," I said, steering Griffy in the direction I thought was away from the massive fight. Of course, because it was sometime way too early to be awake in the morning and the electricity had been out long before we arrived, I went the exact wrong direction. Luckily, I was riding my wonderful psychic Girafarig, whose navigational abilities far surpassed min own in light or dark. We turned around, and Griffy galloped in the opposite direction, psychically dragging several Grimers and Trubbishes with him. Hopefully, Missy and Tweal were close behind.

Honestly, I didn't know why I tried to steer anyway—must be some sort of instinct. {Like spitting on clovers,} Griffy's tail commented.

I flinched when I heard a splat just above my right ear, but turned to find Griffy had put up a psychic barrier that worked like a windshield with one difference: sludge typically burned through windshields and Griffy's barrier held steady.

{Shall I tell Anita psychically that we've gone?} Griffy asked. {Its very unlikely she heard you in the chaos.}

"Na, she'll figure it out, and if not, she'll contact us." If Griffy got in her head at the wrong time and she was distracted… I'd spent a long time volunteering in the hospital in elementary school. More than enough time.

A light caught my eye. Unsurprising as there was nothing else for me to see.

"Griffy, head to the light." Might as well fight where I could see. Surely we'd dragged the poison Pokemon far enough from Anita to stop _every_ poison Pokemon in town from heading towards her, where the concentration of poison Pokemon had been the largest.

As we neared the light, I noticed the haze of poison lessened noticeably. Griffy answered my unasked question. {Miss Blavoid's clearing the air most efficiently. Her effort is concentrated at the center of the city, which we are nearing.}

Ahead, I could make out the silhouette of a man. On his left was a Magmar, its tail the source of light I was seeing. He was standing in front of a large water fountain that was spurting green water.

The man heard our approach. With Griffy's hooves clacking, it was hard not to.

"Ice beam the poison Pokemon," he ordered. I was confused; Magmar couldn't learn—

From both my left and right, ice shot out from the darkness. Griffy put up a barrier around us, releasing his hold on the freezing poison Pokemon. The ice attacks, however, never reached us.

"Who are you, girl?" the man asked. His voice was scratchy. "And no funny business; I've got you surrounded. What were you doing with those poison Pokemon?"

"I'm Erin Kendle. Research assistant of…" What was I supposed to say? Styx wasn't a professor, and I didn't even know her last name. Styx, friendly human-shaped Ditto and girlfriend of the Artemis Town gym leader. "Well, I'm here with the Dustin and Tali Blavoid." Always best to name important people if you weren't sure how much of a threat a stranger presented.

Griffy took a few steps closer, and I could now see the man was middle-aged, younger than I'd expected from his voice. He had dark hair cropped so short it stuck up straight and was wearing very outdated navy blue pajamas. "I was separating these poison Pokemon from the ones my friends are battling," I explained. "Poison Pokemon are attracted to each other and it would be suicidal to attempt battling all of them at once. Especially when they keep un-fainting."

The man's stance relaxed. "Smart girl. Here we've been freezing them. They can't stink up the place when their pores are frozen shut, and we draw plenty poison Pokemon anyway with this damn fountain simmering substances of Arceus-knows what toxicity."

As if on cue, a Muk lumbered into the light. I watched in fascination as the Muk was frozen from the bottom up. When it tried to fire a last-ditch sludge bomb in the direction the ice was coming from, Magmar intercepted the sludge bomb with flames.

"I'm Gordon, by the way," the man said.

I climbed off of Griffy and shook his outstretched hand. He had a strong grip.

"I've been lugging the ice blocks to that alley back there." Gordon gestured behind him. "But it'd be easier if your Girafarig could…"

"No problem. Griffy, go ahead."

{Of course, Miss.} As Griffy psychically moved the frozen Muk to thealley, I peered into the darkness trying to make out the Pokemon using ice beam. The gym leader of Cereal City was water, so…

"Your last name wouldn't happen to be Lamar?" I asked.

"You asking if I'm the gym leader of this place?" The man laughed. "That's one I've never got before. Na, I just have high-tech gas detectors in my apartment." He gestured to his Magmar. "You wouldn't believe the fumes this one let off when he was younger."

The Magmar folded his arms and glared at Gordon.

"Those water Pokemon are the gym leader's though. I went to him when I woke up and found the city like this, but like most folks, he was passed out from the gas. Knew his Pokemon would listen to me, though. I got his Tonsil out of a pretty nasty situation once."

I gave him a look I used to give my sister when she burst into horrible, out-of-tune song on family vacations. "Are you a doctor?"

The man chuckled. "Tonsil's the gym leader's Vaporeon."

{There are three Weezings approaching from the west,} Griffy informed me. I opened my mouth to tell Gordon, but an ice beam was already being fired. It was met with flames, melting the ice harmlessly away. The attack pushed one of the Weezings into the light. Smoke poured out of his mouth.

"Griffy, psychic," I ordered, closing my eyes from the sting of the smoke. "Tweal, Missy, get over here and fight."

{I can no longer sense Missy,} Griffy said. {And Tweal is a ways away.}

Well. I should keep track of my Pokemon better.

I heard Gordon coughing somewhere on my right. "Magmar, punch his socks off," he rasped.

"Gordon, are you okay?" I asked. I felt for the edge of the fountain and followed it, towards his voice. If he was having issues breathing, maybe I could lend him my gas mask for a few minutes…

Something crunched beneath my foot. I picked up my heel and squinted down through the smoke. A PokeBall. I continued along the fountain edge and my foot hit something round—another PokeBall.

"Gordon, are these your PokeBalls?"

A large floating ball bumped into me. "Weezing." I backed away quickly, stumbling over something soft, and catching myself on the fountain's edge. Even through the smoke, I could see the Weezing begin to glow.

Selfdestruct. "Griffy!" I called.

A barrier appeared in front of me as there was a loud explosion. A minute later, the smoke lifted. One of Tali's Noctowls hovered nearby, defogging the area with its wings. The Weezings were frozen one by one while Griffy held them in place psychically.

It was extremely disturbing to see the Weezing that had just used Selfdestruct awaken a few seconds after the attack, blinking as if it had been startled from a short nap.

Gordon sat on the ground, his head between his knees and his breath coming out in short pants. "I'm fine," he said, without lifting his head. His Magmar was bent beside him. Before I could say anything, he snapped, "And don't you dare offer to take me to the Pokemon Center. I've been fighting asthma for years."

_Yeah, but not in these circumstances_, I would have said. However, I happened to glance down and see what I had stumbled on. It was a bag of PokeBalls.

"These aren't yours?" I asked.

Gordon glanced at the bag. "Nope. Found them here."

From the number of PokeBalls in the bag and the number scattered around the fountain, these could all belong to the poison Pokemon…

I raised the bag in the air and smashed it into the ground. I then proceeded to jump on the bag until all the PokeBalls within were broken. "Griffy, break any ball you find around the fountain," I ordered.

"What in Arceus's name are you doing?" Gordon said. "Those balls might belong to the poison Pokemon, and we wouldn't want to ruin any chance of matching the balls—"

"If these PokeBalls belong to the poison Pokemon, we'll never be able to match the Pokemon with the correct ball. There are just too man to try. By breaking the balls we find, however, we can at least re-catch some of them instead of refreezing them every five minutes."

My mind was racing. This was where the poison Pokemon had been released. Supposing we could re-catch some of the Pokemon, they'd be proof that someone was behind this outbreak of poison Pokemon. If we could find evidence here, we might be able to find who and why…

I felt a chill run down my spine and sighed. "Missy, now's not the time to be pulling pranks."

My Misdreavus appeared behind the Magmar and licked his neck, causing the Magmar to stumble over Gordon in surprise. A Vaporeon jumped out of the darkalley, firing an ice beam at Missy.

"Stop! She's my Pokemon."

Missy disappeared and reappeared by my side, ignoring the growling Vaporeon. She faded through my skin, sending another chill through my body and leaving the word _'Watch' _dancing around my mind.

Tweal flapped down from high above, carrying a Trubbish whose stubby arms couldn't quite reach Tweal's wings to bring him spiraling to the ground. There was a piece of tape over the Trubbish's mouth.

Missy fired a shadow ball at the Trubbish, not bothering to aim carefully as ghost attacks wouldn't effect Tweal. The Trubbish was knocked out.

I waited a heartbeat. Then two. Three…

"It won't wake up?" I asked.

Missy cackled, flipping through the air. I took that as a yes.

"Griffy, tell Anita," I ordered. I turned to Gordon. "You see that?"

He nodded.

"Well, now we have a way to knock them out, the ability to catch at least some of them, and I've got some spare PokeBalls in my pack. Shall we get to it?"

Gordon started to get up.

{Erin, it seems Miss Anita may have a more efficient plan,} Griffy said.

"All the better. Let's hear it."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

I watched the Swalot turn its blank gaze to me and prepare to launch a toxic. I could always tell when a Swalot was about to use toxic from the funny gurgling noise coming from its throat. Fiery sprung forward, roasting the Swalot before he could attack.

Well, great. "Will you quit baking them before I can even get a good look at their toxic attack?" I padded over to the Swalot and placed a paw on his back. That was all it took to ensure the poison Pokemon wouldn't seriously injure himself by going all zombie on us.

Too bad it'd taken me a good half hour to realize that the Pokemon I'd touched weren't rising again. Maybe the gas was getting to me. And now that I finally knew and was ready to kick poison butt, Anita'd given me a different mission: learn the attack, Toxic.

I tried to imitate the Swalot. Really. But the Swalot had a ginormous mouth and a blobby body. He _made_ the poison inside himself. I looked down at my black paws covered in soft fur. I just had this niggling feeling that making poison in my body would be significantly more dangerous than the Swalot making poison in his body.

Fiery glared at me. "Not getting poisoned is our first priority."

I snorted, pointedly looking at the purple patch of fur on his tail. "You already _are _poisoned."

Fiery swept his tail to his side, out of my view.

Just as I was about to send my mind out to Vanilla and Allo to see how they were holding up, my ears pricked at heavy gurgling. The Swalot had brought a friend.

A toxic attack shot out from behind the mailbox on my right, aimed at Fiery. I leapt into the air, hitting the attack face first. I managed to close my eyes, but my nose and snout burned like I'd sneezed a Grimer.

Fiery, of course, fried the Swalot before my paws touched the ground.

I licked my lips, feeling the substance burn my tongue, scorch down my throat, and settle uncomfortably somewhere in my stomach. Hopefully it wouldn't burn through my intestines.

I resisted the urge to puke as my vision blurred. Oh yeah, I was 110% poisoned.

I reconsidered how the Swalot gurgled. Now that I was an Umbreon, I had better control of the hormone levels in my body. Maybe the toxic attack could be produced if—

"What are you thinking?" Fiery demanded, marching towards me. He'd whipped up a fire spin around us, and I had to take a step forward to keep my tail from being singed. I optimistically chose to believe that the fire was to keep the zombies out and _not_ me in.

"I'm currently thinking about the hormones and necessary elements necessary to use toxic," I said, a new bubbly feeling climbing up my stomach. A literal bubbling—not the kind that often accompanied me when speaking with Fiery. "Actually, hotdogs seem to contain the majority of toxins needed—"

"You just jumped in front of an attack I could have easily dodged."

"It was for the sake of education. Have a heart."

Fiery was mere noses away from my stinging nose. "I have a heart," he said, his eyes reflecting the fire surrounding us. Oh, no. My skin was hot, and I couldn't tell if it was from the fire or this… _look_.

My heart raced, taking off like a frantic Fearow. Fiery padded a step closer. I made a small gurgling noise…

"Apple—"

…and spit up purple goo all over Fiery's snout. We matched.

Yes! Mission learn Toxic was go.

Fiery winced, pawing at his nose. The fire around us simmered down to a ring of smoke. "Don't worry," I said, happily prancing beside Fiery. "That won't do anything to you 'cause you're already poisoned."

Fiery shook his head, a determined look forming on his face. We stared at each other a moment.

I sensed his snout was about to form words when a Trubbish peaked around a tree and shouted, "Oy, when's the wedding?"

Fiery shot a flamethrower at the Trubbish, knocking the Pokemon out faster than he could utter his sincere congratulations.

"That's new. A Trubbish that can speak," I commented mildly, annoyed he'd attacked a Pokemon that probably wasn't a threat. "Guess someone else figured out how to un-brainwash them, or maybe we just missed him before."

Fiery growled something under his breath.

"Look. This isn't the best time for vow recitation." I smirked and nodded to a less verbal Trubbish peaking around a tree whose roots were uplifting the sidewalk. Fiery glared at me, making my smirk widen. "We're supposed to meet Anita by the dump. Later, after we've both been decontaminated of hazardous substances, we can have a nice long chat about where the wedding will be, whether Griffy's tail will be invited, what we'll name our pups, and how many times a week we'll sneak off to have mad, crazy se—"

Fiery stopped walking. I think I broke one of his mental circuits.

"Just kidding." I paused, grinning. "Of course Griffy's tail will be invited to the wedding."

"I'm not marrying you."

"No, but later I think you and I are having mad, crazy—"

And just then, Fiery felt the need to hurry ahead, loudly humming Acceber's latest hit pop song despite his ardent dislike of peppy music.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

The dump wasn't much of a dump. Located on the Nutshell River, streetlamps across the river in Artemis Town reflected dim light into the dump. There were six neatly stacked piles of various recyclable materials held within separate circles of fencing. The materials were all a good six feet away from the fencing and _I_ was taller than the pile of aluminum. One large mound of trash as tall as a house sat between the recycling enclosures and the mouth of Nutshell River. There was a schedule beside the garbage mound detailing the garbage boat schedule that shipped trash down the river to Globert Town.

The dump was so pristine there were less poison Pokemon wandering around here than Cereal City's alleys.

Sunflower shadow-balled the few Grimers and Trubbishes meandering about that started towards us when they noticed our presence. Most she didn't even have to knock out—as soon as they were hit with an attack, their focus shifted back to the garbage mound.

Several continued attacking with fiery.

Two Gulpins actually believed us when we told them they'd been brainwashed and made it their mission to convince the other poison Pokemon.

One Trubbish took offense that we were harming poison Pokemon at all and charged at Sunflower with a toilet plunger in hand yelling, {For my fallen comrades!}

{Now what?} Sunflower asked when all the Pokemon around the dump were either knocked out or preoccupied with the garbage pile, with the exception of the toilet-plunger Trubbish who had opted to leave us in an attempt to gather and bring a poison Pokemon army to the dump. I wasn't going to say no to that. Poison brought more poison.

I glanced around at the mound of trash. We needed to attract more poison Pokemon faster. More poison Pokemon in one area meant less in the city and an easier time of isolating and containing said poison Pokemon. This only worked, of course, if we had a method of containing the Pokemon. Right now, I was banking on Griffy's psychic—Apple and I were pretty much sucked dry of psychic energy at the moment.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes drowsily. "Until Apple and Erin show up, the best we can do is release as many Pokemon as we can from the deep hypnosis. Maybe we can even enrage a few into chasing us here." I shook my head and said, "Then again, we may have better luck waiting for that crazy Trubbish to show up."

Sunflower nodded, frowning as I searched through my pack for the last of my Leppa berries. {Will you be okay?} she asked.

"Yeah. I'm just a little tired." I found the berries and tossed them to Sunflower. They'd increase her endurance for now.

For nearly an hour we drew as many poison Pokemon as we could from the nearby neighborhoods. The streets were bare of human life—the fumes had probably knocked out most people in their sleep. Dustin and Styx had already combed through the area for the few awake, and mostly injured, citizens of Cereal City.

By the time Fiery and Apple arrived, the sun was rising.

Fiery seemed to have unusually high spirits, humming, {…_dancing in the moonlight. Take me down like I'm a Minccinno.}_

Apple looked me up and down once before proudly firing a toxic at the mound of garbage.

I sighed in relief, collapsing to the soft dirt ground. Fiery padded over to me and laid his warm tail across my leg that had been hit by a sludge attack. He acted like he just happened to move his tail on a whim, but I knew he wasn't as indifferent as he appeared and was grateful for the heat his tail emitted.

{No sign of Griffy yet?} Apple asked after thoroughly covering the mound of trash with her toxic spit. Already, more Trubbishes trickled out of nearby alleys, attracted to the dump.

"No."

{I sense Erin nearby,} Apple said. She jumped from poison Pokemon to poison Pokemon emerging from the alleys, lightly brushing against them to counter the affects of the hypnotism. Her movements were sluggish. She didn't bother to dodge sludge attacks or poison stings that were fired at her.

Fiery snarled at her, but Apple ignored him.

I blinked, understanding that she was already poisoned, and without moonlight, she couldn't compensate with an effective recovery move.

"Apple, stop," I demanded. "You're going to injure yourself if you keep it up. Sunflower can…" Sunflower was still firing shadow balls, attacking the poison Pokemon Apple missed. Apple's toxic attack was attracting poison Pokemon too fast—there were Garbodors bolting towards the rubbish pile from our left, Swalots creeping in from our right, and Muks slithering up along the shore.

The gas was making me lightheaded.

Suddenly, in a blur of blue on my right, a Dewgong carrying Erin and a man wearing flannel pajamas slid out of the alley past the Swalots. The man shouted an order and the Dewgong redirected its ice beam from the ice path it'd been riding on to the garbage pile. It was only a moment before I realized the Dewgong was creating a barrier around the pile.

Erin hopped off the Dewgong. Missy appeared behind her and immediately began helping Sunflower and Apple.

"Where's Griffy?" I asked. "We need a barrier."

Erin pointed a thumb behind her. "Gordon's Dewgong will take care of it. We can leave a hole so poison Pokemon can still enter—"

"Erin, it's not holding up. Look," I said. Erin turned around and we watched as the onslaught of poison Pokemon broke through the thin layer of ice. The Dewgong simply couldn't shoot ice quickly enough to form a barrier thick enough the Pokemon couldn't break through. "We need a barrier Pokemon can enter, but can't exit. Only a psychic Pokemon can—"

"Griffy's out cold. His tail finally managed to take a bite out of a Grimer. Unless you have a revive, he's out of the picture. Can't you—"

I shook my head. "I can't even hear thoughts at the moment. Does that guy—Gordon—have a psychic Pokemon?"

"He's got a Magmar that's on its way over. There were some other water Pokemon that used ice attacks, but they're all knocked out." Erin folded her arms. I found myself staring down at the burned hem of her lab coat. "I've sent Tweal to get Tali," she continued as if that would solve our problems.

I coughed into my arm and saw Gordon doing the same. Even without their harmful intent, the poison Pokemon unconsciously released poisonous fumes. It was becoming too concentrated. Without a psychic…

"Anita. Anita?" I vaguely heard. My breath was coming up short. I saw Fiery snapping at an Ekans aiming to lunge at Sunflower. I saw Missy directing a ghostly wind at a Swalot. I saw hundreds of poison Pokemon suddenly pouring from the center alleys, directly in front of Apple.

I saw Sunflower glowing in the dim morning sunlight and blinked, trying to see past the gas fogging my vision.

There was an Espeon where Sunflower had stood. Her eyes glowed purple, and suddenly there was a glittering barrier around the pile of garbage. Fiery and Missy immediately took to driving the poison Pokemon into the barrier. They were soon joined by a Magmar and Gordon's Dewgong.

Apple collapsed, but Fiery stood near her, ensuring no poison Pokemon injured her further.

I realized I could breath again and tapped the barrier around my head in wonder. "Anita, c'mon don't pass out on me," Erin said. She was holding me up.

Even in my state, I could feel a huge psychic presence approaching upstream. A psychic tendril prodded me and I felt the wind blowing against my neck. It smelled like algae. I was moving up and down as if—

"Hey," Gordon shouted from the river bank. "There's a garbage boat coming up the river! It's not even scheduled."

"We're going to be okay," I murmured before collapsing into Erin's arms.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

After pressing my thumb to the DNA scanner, I took a moment to compose myself before twisting the door handle to my office. Recently I'd let my emotions become erratic. That couldn't happen here. Here I was the Master of Team Glop'emm. Serious. Controlled. Unyielding.

I twisted the door handle and came face to face with Landon. Irrefutably, an unexpected occurrence.

Although temporarily shocked, I automatically surveyed my office in my peripheral vision. On my right, my desk was in disarray—papers that had been lying near the edge were now scattered on the ground. There was a smudge of dirt on the edge of the desk closest to me. Judging from the mud on Landon's shoes, he'd stood on my desk recently. My rolling chair was tilted back, leaning against the wall. Someone had pushed it back in a hurry.

In my left field of vision, Professor Teal was collapsed against a wall smudged with blood. Her head lolled from side to side and her fists were clenched tightly, pushing against the ground. Blood trickled from the palm of her left fist. From the way her nails dug into her palm, this injury was presumably self-inflicted.

In front of me, Landon was wearing one of my black cloaks. From the stitched pocket on his right hand side, I could tell it was the cloak I'd left hanging by the gym entrance—undoubtedly, where he'd entered the base from. I would have to check the security video repository later to see exactly how he entered the base, though from Professor Teal's state, I already had a good idea.

I turned my gaze to Landon's face. Looking at Landon was like looking at a circus distortion mirror, but neither my reflection nor I were amused. Landon had my facial structure, but his cheeks were sunken in and there were deep bags under his eyes. His hair was an inch or two longer than mine and hung limply above his shoulders, unevenly cut. His eyes were not the same eyes I'd seen on my four-year-old cousin just hours ago—his eyes were hard and old.

I had the sudden, rather superfluous, urge to reach out and touch Landon's shoulder to confirm with one more sense that Landon was standing in front of me, alive. Instead, I said, "Landon."

"Liam." His voice was scratchy and guarded.

A heat, burning in my chest, clenching my muscles down through my torso to my toes sunk through me. Anger. While inconvenient, the spontaneous emotion confirmed my suspicions.

"I don't appreciate you manipulating Team Glop'emm's head researcher," I said.

"Yeah, well I don't appreciate being left with a deranged lunatic for ten years."

Professor Teal was shaking. I needed to get Landon away from her. "Why don't we go somewhere more private to talk?"

Landon smirked. "I'd rather fight."

I almost smiled. That much hadn't changed. "Still, we can go somewhere more suitable." I inclined my head, indicating Landon to follow me as I headed down the hall to the staircase. We encountered no other Team Glop'emm members; it was very early in the morning and unlikely that any underlings had yet arrived at the base.

We climbed the stairs in silence. What do you say to a person you'd believed dead, but after all these years still considered your closest friend?

"I was worried," I found myself saying at the top of the staircase.

"You were worried?" Landon laughed—a derisive laugh lacking any real emotion. "For what, all of three months? It can't have been long since you went back in time and _rescued_ me." His voice was sarcastic.

It'd been today that I'd saved him; I'd worried for all of three hours. I shouldn't have said anything.

I led Landon down a long, spiraling hall. "So, why'd you accuse me of manipulating the professor? Clearly she's a nutcase," Landon said.

"Don't play dumb. She exhibited signs similar to that of a Pokemon resisting a taunt attack. From the unprovoked anger rankling my mind for the past five minutes, your gift encompasses such a power."

"You call it a gift—what a joke. Well, genius boy, guess you've got me all figured out."

"I wasn't finished. Professor Teal was unresponsive to my entering the office and she'd inflicted injury upon herself. Thus, you also have an ability similar to Flatter, the only dark typed confusion-inducing attack." It was peculiar, actually. Gifted abilities tended to be general, but Landon seemed to be able to use specific attacks. It was something to consider at a later time.

"You have any tricks like that?" Landon asked.

We reached the door to the apartment I'd lived in for several years. I pressed my thumb to the DNA scanner and the door clicked open. Inside, I dialed an eight-digit code on the pad next to my door so the alarm wouldn't activate.

"Well, guess I'll see when we duke it out, huh?" Landon said, scanning my apartment. I breathed in, noticing the apartment still had that pristine chemical smell most new apartments have. I didn't spend enough time here for it to ever change.

I walked into my kitchen, pulling two glasses out of the cabinet. "Water?"

"Sure." Landon ran a hand over the black granite countertop. "Nice place you got. Sure you want to ruin it?"

I poured water from my sink into the two glasses. Landon seemed under the impression that the fight would last more than ten seconds, assuming that we actually fought, of course. I shrugged my coat off, laid it on the glass kitchen table, and took our water glasses to the living room. Landon followed me.

I sat down in the black, stiff chair that had its back to a wall. To my left was a giant window that overlooked Drape Town. At the moment, however, the window was completely obscured by steel blinds, in place to prevent idiots from attempting to break in through my window.

I gulped the water down in moments, still dehydrated from flying across Acceber, and placed Landon's cup on the small table by my feet. Landon sat in the matching chair across from mine, making no move to take the glass.

Without the cloak, I was able to fully assess Landon's physical state. His shirt and jeans were ripped. A scrape on his knee matched the shape of a cut through his jeans. There were a few scratches along his left arm, and a bruise on his right. He'd been traveling through thick brambles recently.

His arms were wiry, too thin to be healthy.

"Ready?" Landon asked. I felt the anger in my chest rise once more.

"You really want to do this?" Another notch of anger. "That won't work. Dark's resistant to dark." I carefully avoided Landon's gaze—it'd be _un-Flattering_ if I became confused.

Now where'd that come from? Truly, I'd been hanging around Anita for too long.

Landon made a sound of frustration under his breath. "Never had to throw the first punch?" I asked.

Landon came at me, shoving himself from his chair, and throwing a punch wildly at me much the way Anita had when I first asked her to demonstrate a punch. I swiftly rose to the balls of my feet, darting to the left and allowing Landon to fall into my chair. With my right hand I grabbed his left wrist, pushing it into his back. With my left hand, I caught the teetering glass of water he'd knocked with his foot and steadied it back on the table. Then, before Landon could twist out of my grasp, I caught his other wrist, pressed a knee against the back of his knees, and pushed his shoulder into the chair.

"Are you done?" I asked. My voice was quieter and colder than I meant it to be.

Landon didn't answer.

Thinking he didn't hear me, I repeated, "Are you—"

"I hate you." Suddenly, he was four years old again, pounding my chest—_I hate you, too_—looking at me with those trusting green eyes—_can't you at least try_—and I left him to be tortured—

I released Landon, stumbling backwards into the table. The glass tipped over and cracked when it hit the carpet. "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know—"

"Didn't know?" That cold laugh again. Landon turned to face me, his eyes luminescent. "You know, for years I thought there was no other way—that you had to bring me to Seth Hastings. I had wild dreams of you rescuing me from his clutches. Then one day I found out my father was alive. My father. You thought to bring me to Seth Hastings, but not to my _own father_."

I grabbed the front of Landon's shirt. "I was going to take care of you! I didn't know Hastings was—I thought he could help find us somewhere to live—Winsk City made sense because it was isolated and the time stream—"

"Fuck the time stream. What the hell do you know about time?" Landon grabbed my wrist and I let go of him, my head throbbing. "You should have left me to die in the tsunami."

"Landon, I—"

"I didn't need you to save me after all. I got out of hell. Now, I'm going to bring it to you."

Landon caught my eye and I knew he'd managed to confuse me. I recoiled from him as my vision blurred. Landon pushed me back into the chair he'd originally been sitting in, and I knew I had precious few seconds before the hallucinations started—

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

_A four-year-old Landon stood in front of me, holding two knives out to me. His hands were bleeding. I looked down._

_Mine were, too._


	49. Preperations

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Guys, it has been way too long. Life kinda caught up with me; applying to Grad school + finals + actually having a social life abroad (what, that was possible? 0_0) + traveling = I stink at updating. In other news, I'm going to Japan in thirty minutes. Thus, this will be brief.

Sorry, guys, no personal reviews this time. I figured you'd rather have a chapter than not, and with my flight taking off pretty soon, time is limited. I promise personal responses next update, which should be around beg/mid Jan.

Previously, Anita and Erin were saved Cereal City from a poison Pokemon attack. Liam went back to Drape Town and was confronted by Landon. For more information, re-skim last chapter. Sorry, guys. Again, figure you'd rather have a chapter than not simply because I'm running low on time.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers, who put up with my update incompetence!

}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Chapter 46: Preparations

I paused before I entered the gym, examining my tousled blonde hair in a window. I ran a hand through it, then brushed a bit of lint off of my shirt which read, "All revere Jake Veneer!" Winking at my reflection, I stood up tall and strolled through the revolving doors into the Artemis Town gym.

"All right, I'm here to…" My voice echoed around the large dome. Nobody was here.

Shit, this was lame. I sat down on a bleacher bench. First the chirpy trio ditches me in the middle of the night, then this.

Alright, alright. I could chase after Anita, Erin, and the Mendol kid. Some friends they were, leaving without so much as a note or message. And Erin'd said she'd battle the gym leaders with me.

Whatever. I didn't need them. I stood up, slowly walking towards the gym exit.

No, I knew someone better suited to challenge the gym with me anyway.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

I groggily awoke to arguing voices.

"Kyle, you're a damn moron. You _can't_ host a catwalk when there's still so much damage control to be done."

"So do you suggest we sit by and illustrate to all of Acceber that terrorism is an effective means of silencing a city? That's unacceptable."

"No, I suggest you wait for a more appropriate time to execute the fashion show. After this mess is sorted out…"

As the voices rose in the adjacent room, I sat up in my unfamiliar bed, rubbing my eyes. I was in a dark room, dimly lit by the light seeping in around the thick drapes of two large windows beside my bed's headboard. Erin was collapsed at the end of my bed, her arms cradling her head on the comforter and her body sagging in a plastic chair.

I felt around my waist for my PokeBalls. Not finding them, I tugged the sheets off of me immediately. {Apple?} I called. No answer. Finding my psychic abilities somewhat recovered, I reached out in a wide circle—not panicking, nope not panicking, not panicking…

The sheets got caught on my jean zipper as I climbed out of bed, and the movement woke up Erin. "Anita? Oh, good, you're okay. Arceus, who's causing all that clamor?"

One of the loud voices rose further. "I'm just sayin—"

"Hey!" Erin yelled over her shoulder. "Will you SHUT IT? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Silence.

Erin sighed then yawned. "What time is it?"

I glanced at my PokeTech. "Nearly one in the afternoon. Where're Apple and my Pokemon?"

"In the Pokemon Center with Styx and the other nurses," Erin answered, waving to the window behind me. I immediately focused my mind in that direction and felt a prickle of Apple's awareness as she sent a psychic pulse to me. "You'd be next door in the hospital if there was enough room. Half the patients were transferred to Artemis and the hospital and Pokemon Center are still overflowing. Or at least they were six hours ago." Erin stood up and stretched as I fell back onto the bed.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, worried about how Vanilla and Allo may have fared.

"Most will be. The Pokemon will be able to recover quickly, at least. Cereal City citizens might take a little longer. Not sure if anyone died…"

I pulled my sore ankle onto the bed, rubbing it guiltily. I'd only been thinking about my Pokemon. I asked anyway, "Are our Pokemon okay?"

"Yeah, didn't I just say Pokemon recover from poison quickly?"

Two men walked into the room. One was the pajama man who'd arrived at the dump with Erin yesterday. He was still wearing his set of weird, old blue pajamas. The other man looked vaguely familiar. He had a boyish face with hair buzzed to a bristly veneer and eyes the color of the Palute Sea on a cloudy day.

"Gordon, you woke us up," Erin accused the pajama man.

Gordon shrugged, scratching at his stubble-covered chin. "And yet the world keeps spinning. Erin and uh… em…" Gordon looked at me, frowning.

"Anita," Erin filled in.

"Right. Erin, Anita, I'd like to introduce you to Kyle Lamar, the undeserving gym leader of Cereal City." He looked at Kyle fondly. "Guess he's come far from that wee fella that used to crawl over my mother's carpet, spitting up his breakfast. I used to clean up those messes. Guess I still clean up his—"

"Thank you, Godon," Kyle interrupted calmly. Besides interrupting, he didn't display any indication of irritation or embarrassment. Maybe there was some Murphy's Law that required one person within my immediate vicinity to be a stoic weirdo.

Said stoic weirdo turned towards Erin. "There are currently four hundred and fifty three people recovering from severe poisoning. Six of them are in comas, but we've had no casualties."

Erin let out a sigh.

Kyle nodded at her, then flicked his eyes to me. "I cannot thank you two enough for what you did for this city. Without you—"

"The psychic gym leader would have saved everyone instead," I said, remembering the strong psychic presence I'd felt before I'd gone unconscious. Human psychic presence. Zahavah City's gym leader was the only other psychic human I knew of in Acceber.

Kyle gave me an even look. "Tamara arrived in time to help capture and move all the poison Pokemon you gathered to the ship she brought. As I understand it, you came up with the idea to trap and gather all of the poison Pokemon in one area away from the townspeople." Kyle looked at Erin. "And you came up with the idea to release and recapture the poison Pokemon, making the transportation process much faster."

I glanced at Erin. She was blushing and looking at the ceiling, rocking back and forth on her heels. Guess I had been knocked out when her idea had been implemented.

Kyle continued, "Furthermore, the two of you managed to utilize your Pokemon and available resources to accomplish these plans. While Tamara is a talented Pokemon trainer and possess a gift of unparalleled power, I doubt she could have accomplished all you two accomplished with zero casualties."

I closed my eyes, trying to link my mind with my Pokemon. They were the ones who truly deserved to hear this. "Therefore—" I located Sunflower first, allowing her to listen as I listened. "—I would like to present both of you with the Puddle Badge."

My eyes snapped open and my mind jerked away from my Pokemon before I could locate any more of them. Kyle's outstretched hand held two small vials of water with the words "Puddle Badge" engraved in the glass. Erin picked one up, fiddling with it so it shimmered in the dim light.

"I'm not taking one of those till I beat you in a battle," I said. I peered closer. "Is that actual water?"

Erin rolled her eyes.

Gordon snorted. "Of course it's water you twit. He's the _water_ gym leader." I looked at the vial skeptically. This had to be a prank—seriously, getting a tube of water as a gym badge? Gordon scratched his chin. "What are they teaching you kids these days? Look, you've got other badges, right? They're all imbued with the respective properties of the gyms you've beat."

"Not that I know of," I said.

Gordon held out his hand while Erin and Kyle watched, amused. "C'mon, let's see them."

I spotted my pack on the floor and shuffled through it until I found my dingy badge case. I opened the case and passed it along to Gordon.

Gordon pulled out the Maple Badge I'd received from the grass gym leader. "See, made of wood." I looked at the badge doubtfully. If it was wood, it'd been smoothed and polished until it was as shiny as silver. Gordon swapped the Maple Badge for the electric gym Rumble Badge shaped like a cloud. He pulled a paperclip out of his pocket and dropped it on the badge. The paperclip stuck. "See, it's a magnet."

"And what about the fire badge?"

Kyle pulled out the Flame Badge, which was shaped like a candle flame. He casually twisted the top of the badge with his thumb. A small flame appeared where the top of the badge had twisted. "It's a lighter. And the badge you received from Dustin and Tali has been imbued with normal properties—ghost types cannot affect it."

"Huh." Seemed kind of pointless to me.

Gordon handed the case of gym badges to Kyle, who dropped the Flame Badge back into the case.

"Well then, we'll battle tomorrow so you can add a Puddle Badge to your collection," Kyle said, handing the badge case back to me. It bothered me that he assumed I would win—he wouldn't just let me, right? Kyle continued, "It'll be the opening event of the _New Blue_ fashion show."

Fashion show?

"Just take the badge," Gordon urged. "He's manipulating you! Can't you see he just wants a spectacle—"

"I made my own decision, thank you," I snapped at Gordon. I turned to Kyle. "Tomorrow."

Giving me a small smile, Kyle straightened his back; I hadn't realized he'd been leaning forward and he was unexpectedly tall. "Well, if you two are sticking around anyway, perhaps you'd like to help out—or even participate—in the fashion show tomorrow night."

Erin gave me a searching look when our eyes met.

"I agreed to a battle, not…" Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out a water stone. "But I'd be happy to help."

"The catwalk will be held in the gym tomorrow night. Meet me at the gym in an hour to start setting up preparations." Kyle turned around, patting Gordon on the shoulder as he walked towards the doorway. "Gordon can show you where the gym is. You'll be properly compensated for your help, of course." The water stone flashed in his hand as he left the room.

"Jerk," Gordon muttered. He shook his head. "Well, you two get dressed. We can stop at the Pokemon Center before trying to stop Kyle from going through with this madness." Gordon left the room, his pajama pants dragging on the floor. He shut the door.

"Anita, what are you doing?" Erin hissed. "What about Liam?"

So much for out of sight, out of mind. "What about Liam?"

"We need to go find him—help him."

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"We're not going through this again, Anita—"

"Look, let's try calling him again. I'm sure he's fine." I pulled my wrist out in front of us and dialed Liam's number on my PokeTech.

Only two rings in, Liam picked up. "Hello?" a groggy voice said. The screen was a blur of black and grey as it was jostled about. After a moment, Liam appeared on the screen wearing the same dark wrinkled shirt he'd left in last night. His hair was matted, and he looked more tired than I'd ever seen him.

"Did we wake you up?" I asked, startled. Liam, sleeping late? "It's nearly one."

"Where are you?" Erin demanded.

Liam squinted at the screen before his face recovered its typical, stoic façade and his eyes resumed alertness.

I smiled. "Wakey, wakey."

"I'm fine," Liam snapped. "I've got a family predicament to smooth over."

And that's zero for two on answering our questions. Liam was sitting in a plush black chair, the kind you'd expect to find in the lobby of a fancy hotel. I could make out a glass shelf behind him. Where exactly was he?

"Can we come help?" Erin asked. "I mean you—"

"I'm fine."

I felt a spike of anger from Erin. "You know, we'd do anything to help you out of any sort of trouble. I don't understand what your problem—"

Liam hung up.

"That went well," I said.

Erin threw my pack at me. "You smell like a rotting fish rolled in a used diaper. Go take a shower."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

I folded my arms, tapping my fingers impatiently against my sleeve as Hypno swung her pendulum in front of Seth Hastings' face. Gallade stood stone facedly next to her. Across the room, the idiot boy flipped absentmindedly through the television channels on a monitor attached to the wall. Bored, I imagined the boy smashing his head through the monitor, his bleached blond hair streaked with red blood.

Hypno straightened and the professor slouched forward on his stool. Gallade caught him.

"Reece, you're dismissed," I said. "Gallade will return to you once he's reported to me."

"He's my Pokemon," Reece complained, setting down the remote on a stool. "We helped you escape to this base or whatever it is together."

"You're dismissed," I repeated, my eyes slipping to the door. A Team Glop'emm grunt passed by the door's window carrying an armful of PokeBalls. "I will call upon you when you are needed again."

"Fine," Reece grumbled. "Fartcle-Arkle." He left the room.

I let the remark slide. The idiot boy had proved useful. It was satisfying enough to know he lived because I allowed it, for now.

Apart from myself, the two psychic Pokemon, and the professor, the room was empty. Gallade laid the professor against a wall facing the TV monitor, which buzzed quietly. I turned my attention to Hypno. "Report what you've found this lunatic knows about the Mendol family."

{Of course, sir. First, let me say that his brain is muddled and unfocused. Sometimes it was difficult to discern dreams from reality. For instance, he seems under the delusion that he time traveled. His memories during the time-traveling period are muddled and often incomplete. I'm unsure how reliable his information will be.}

"Gallade, do you also find this to be the case?"

{Aside from fading memory common in most elderly humans, I find his mind reliable.}

I nodded. "Go on, Hypno."

{Professor Hastings believes Landon Mendol was brought to him as a child by the current Master, Liam Mendol. I can find no memory of Celebi, though he believes he has samples of Celebi's DNA. Whether or not the time traveling is fantasized, Hastings did raise Landon in Winsk City. He discovered soon after Landon's arrival that psychic Pokemon did not affect the boy. He also later blamed Landon for the death of his true son.

{Professor Hastings studied and was considered an expert in ancient Pokemon. He particularly focused on powerful ancient Pokemon and the comparisons to their less-powerful relatives.

{While living with Landon, Hastings took up an interest in twining—the ability to give objects slightly Pokemon-like abilities. Some, like magnets, have existed for thousands of years and the method of creation is widely known. On the other hand, the twining of dark objects has been a well-kept secret by the darkly gifted for several generations.

{Hastings learned the secret to dark twining from a colleague. This information combined with his research of powerful Pokemon was the basis of his experimentation on Landon Mendol. Through his experiments, he was eventually able to amplify Landon Mendol's gift. Landon escaped from Hastings' house about a week ago, and Hastings was arrested soon after.}

Smiling, I said, "Gallade, bring me Marcus." Gallade teleported away.

I took a moment to bask in delight. Arceus, G-d, or someone had granted me all the resources a man could dream of and many that were beyond dreaming.

Gallade reappeared with a scruffy man by his side. He was wearing the black Team Glop'emm uniform. The uniform's pants were ripped at the bottom and the sleeve's were too long. This man was the lowest of the lowest. Or he used to be. That would change after I paid him… unless I decided to kill him.

"Um, sir Master Arkle sir, I already reported my destruction of the tracking device's hard drive and the appearance of the green dots…"

I waved my hand. "Yes, of course. I'd like to know more about a rumor that's been circulating from several of my correspondents—that the Master's returned to the base."

Marcus scratched his head. "Well, sir, you're the only Master I answer to. Professor Teal let a boy in that a bunch of people thought was the Master later that evening, but no one was sure because he kept his hood up. Later someone else entered wearing a cloak, too. Nothing's really been announced as far as I know."

"Thank you, Marcus."

"I know her," Hastings suddenly said, pointing at the television. On the monitor was a blonde woman wearing a lab coat. She was shown reviving a comatose man who'd been in Cereal City at the time Reece's Pokemon attacked yesterday.

I glanced at Hypno. She too did not recognize the woman on screen.

"Sticky's all grown up," Hastings said.

"Sir, um if you don't mind me saying, that woman does look a lot like the girl who assisted Professor Teal a lot, only an older definitely prettier version."

Sticky was one of Rita Teal's Dittos. Then, this girl could be…

{Sir, supposing Professor Hasting's memory is accurate, this girl traveled back in time with Liam Mendol,} Gallade said.

The bitch _would_ try to teach her Dittos to act human. Some higher being truly was gifting me. I was meant to become powerful.

"Gallade, take Marcus away," I ordered. The pair was gone a moment later. I grinned. "It appears a new plan's in order. Professor Hastings, I'd like you to continue your research. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to impart a gift unto the non-gifted." I walked up to the professor and crouched down. "How about it, can you grant an ungifted human like me a powerful gift?"

The professor nodded, dazed. "I'd need an experimentation subject, and maybe an assistant…"

My grin widened. "That and more you shall have."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

I ripped the tape with my teeth, holding the tape roll in my right hand and the gold balloon in my left while balancing precariously on the ladder. I managed to stick the tape to the balloon and the balloon to the wall in line with all the other balloons.

{Allo, is it even?} I called.

{Err, no. Move it—}

{Anita,} Vanilla interrupted. {Splash magnetized all the construction work wrenches again. Now they're sticking to the walls like we're in some freaky galactic warehouse.}

My finger was caught in the tape on the wall. I pulled it out. {Okay, so get Sunflower to psychically remove him from the premise, and tell her to stay with him until he's finished charging the generator for the lights. The wrenches will demagnetize in an hour or so.} I squinted at the balloon. Allo was right, it was too high.

{Sunflower's helping Kyle siphon clean water into the pool,} Vanilla said. I nudged the balloon downwards squashing it against the wall. That didn't look right.

{Alright, then tell Fiery—}

{Fiery went to pick up that model's dry cleaning, remember?} Allo said.

{Well, Apple—}

{Apple's with Fiery.}

I released the balloon, letting it bounce against the wall as I climbed down the ladder. {Alright, let's go find Splash,} I said.

On the last rung, I looked up at my work. The balloon wasn't _that_ out of line. Glancing around the gym, I'd say we were doing a pretty good job turning a gym full of water into a model runway. Carpenters and construction workers were still hammering away at the raised platform running down the center of the gym. The gym's pools that surrounded the central platform were covered in a sturdy layer of glass. Tables were being set up on the glass floor, and the way the light reflected off the water, rippling across the tablecloth took my breath away for a moment.

And my breath returned in the form of a loud cough when I eyed the back of the gym; on the stage several workmen were arguing and pointing to the wrenches stuck to the wall.

"Ah, Anita, just who I was looking for." I turned around and found myself facing Kyle. I did a double take—moments ago he'd been in the corner, directing Sunflower. "Come, there's some people I'd like you to meet." Kyle ushered me out of the gym into the gym's atrium.

{Take care of Splash!} I called to Allo and Vanilla over my shoulder.

In the atrium, there were women—tall women in heels who clicked and clucked about like there was a nest to clean up. Kyle smiled blandly at the women, introducing me as his opponent for the opening event tomorrow. He maneuvered us toward a table with refreshments.

Across the table, chatting amiably to a redhead was Carly Snot-face Goldenthrill, long blonde curls and all. Our gazes crossed.

"This is Charlotte," Kyle waved to a woman in a blue dress standing next to me. He noticed where I was looking. "Ah, and I wanted to introduce you to Carly Goldenthrill. She's about your age—"

"We've met. Childhood buddies, actually," I said. "In fact, I recently went to her birthday party in Nelcorn City, right?"

Carly gave me smile of pristine, white teeth.

I smiled right back. "You ran out of that party so early I didn't get the chance to give you your gift." A nice slap across the face followed by a long interrogation.

I bent over, picking up a plastic cup of some fancy mango-banana-fruit juice concoction as I pushed into Carly's mind. {…little freak is everywhere. Please tell me Kyle hasn't hired her out to be a model as well. Hmm, wonder if she brought her dark-haired friend—}

"Is Reece around?" I asked, taking a sip of the juice to hide the look of disgust on my face.

Still linked to Carly's mind, I caught images of Reece standing with a Gallade by Cereal City's central fountain. A flash of red. Grimers, Trubbishes, Koffings—

I sputtered juice all over the table. _Carly_ _and Reece _were involved with the release of the poison Pokemon. How… what…?

The woman in the blue dress looked at me in disgust, using a napkin to dab at the wet spots on her dress. Somewhere in the back of my mind, Apple chanted something about controlling my emotions.

I took a deep breath and looked up, checking the ceiling for broken light bulbs. Zero for twelve. I was doing well today. I took another breath. "Carly Goldenthrill released the poison Pokemon that attacked yesterday," I said calmly.

Several conversations around me grew quiet.

Blue dress lady threw her napkin on the table. "That's utterly ridiculous. I was with Carly when two Muks came at us. They ruined her skirt."

Next to me in his deep voice, Kyle asked, "What evidence do you have to support this accusation?"

Well, hell. These gym leaders new about my gift, right? {I saw it in her mind,} I told Kyle, showing him the images.

{We'll investigate. Don't make a scene,} Kyle replied.

Several people were staring at me or at Carly or at Carly's maroon dress that twinkled in the light—it was absurdly distracting, actually. Now what was I supposed to say? A laugh bubbled in my stomach but died in my throat, turning into a grunt.

Behind Carly, a woman in a suit was talking loudly on her phone. Two men with shifty eyes and stiff backs stood near her. Now that thanks to me most of the room's chatter had quieted, her voice echoed across the atrium. "No, tell the director of _Wobbufets in Love _he'll just have to wait; I was asked to step in for a model at the _New Blue_ fashion show—yes, it was terribly tragic…" The woman looked at me. "John, I have to go. Take care of it."

The woman walking towards me had brown eyes, eerily similar to…

There was a tap on my shoulder. Erin stood with a clipboard in hand. "Anita, where have you been? One of the balloons isn't taped on right—" Erin stopped midsentence, staring past me.

"Oh my, baby sis, it's so good to see you!" The woman walked past me to envelop Erin in a hug. "Everyone, this is my little sister, Erin."

"Anita, this is my sister, Melanie," Erin muttered as her sister ruffled her hair.

Melanie released Erin from the hug, but held onto her shoulders. "Oh, it's so good to see you. Mom told me you were traveling with—" Melanie's eyes flicked to me. "And this must be her, the darling trainer you're traveling with. Ah, of course, she's the challenger for tomorrow's show. Are you going to be modeling? We can arrange matching outfits—Frank, get Natasha on the phone—"

Erin slapped Melanie's hands away. "I'm _not_ going to be in a _catwalk_. I'm just volunteering to help set up."

"Come on, you used to love this type of thing. Here, have you met Carly? She's your age so you won't be the only young model. And after tomorrow when your friend here earns another badge, I can drive the two of you to your next city or maybe Arctic Village's beach. I just bought a new car—"

Erin pushed away with enough force to knock Melanie back. "Anita and I are not a part of your drive-around posse, and I am _not_ a model. I'm a research assistant." One of the men—maybe Frank—who'd been standing near Melanie grabbed Erin's wrist to keep Erin from shoving her sister again.

I tripped the man with a short barrier, allowing Erin to twist away.

"Why can't you do both?" Melanie yelled as Erin stormed out of the atrium.

A workman entered the room as Erin left. He was holding a mass of electrical tape—no, he was holding Splash, who was covered in electrical tape with the occasional spiky fur bit sharply poking through. Oh and look, there were more lumps in that electrical tape mass—Vanilla and Allo were loosely taped to Splash's sides. A loop of electrical tape threaded around Vanilla's paw and clung to the nearly finished tape roll.

The workman held Splash up by the scruff of his neck. "Hey, do these belong to anyone?"

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

My fur felt hot an itchy, like a gross woolen blanket. I looked up and scrunched my nose as the sun peeped out from behind a cloud.

"I really hate the sun," I said. This… _allergy_ had developed after evolving into an Umbreon.

"You're the one who chose to come with me to pick up dry cleaning," Fiery grumbled.

"I don't get how we're going to bring the clothes back anyway. It's not like we have opposable thumbs." I peeked into Fiery's mind and saw a small cart with wheels we could pull. "Oh, I guess that works."

Fiery sped up his pace down the street.

"Hey, don't be mad!" I used a quick attack to jump ahead of him. I walked backwards.

{No, I'm just thrilled you know every intimate detail of my life,} Fiery thought loudly. He stepped around me as I accidentally backed into a tree.

"I don't know everything. I don't actually know much of anything about your life. Just the occasional thought worrying about one of your siblings…"

"Right."

"Seriously." I ran until I was trotting beside him "Like, I don't know why you chose to stay with Anita."

Fiery didn't say anything.

"I'm not wheedling for information," I said defensively.

Fiery signed, a puff of smoke floating from his nose.

"You already know why I chose Anita. You were there—you saw the condition we were in, we didn't have a choice."

"You could've walked away at any time. Anita offered you that much. Why'd you stay?"

Fiery looked at me sharply. "Why'd you?"

"Let me show you something," I said.

_Even from upstairs, curled in a small shoebox under Anita's creaking bed I could smell the onions. As I'd been doing for the past few days, I closed my eyes and left my sore body to reside in Anita's._

_We mushed the potatoes with a potato masher as our—no, her—mother minced the onions. Our hands were small and the potato mashing was hard work, but if we finished before mother, we could maybe sneak into the cabinet to steal more medicine without her noticing._

_The doorbell rang. A loud Houndoom howl sent a chill down our back, and a foreboding feeling rose in our belly. Our mother looked at her watch, then muttered testily about visitors after seven at night. She went to answer the door._

_Anita sensed the same wrongness I sensed, or maybe I gave her the sense. Anita grabbed the cutting board and the bottle of apple juice off the counter, before racing up the stairs as fast as she could while balancing the juice, the chopped onions, and the knife in her hands._

_Downstairs, we heard our mother raise her voice. "You have absolutely no right to enter my house. The mayor—"_

"_Ma'am, we have a search warrant signed by the Drape Town gym leader. Please move aside."_

"_This is a blatant violation of privacy. Believe me, I'm going to raise havoc—I know Acceber's legal system has problems, but I'll see you in court if you think—"_

_There was a shuffle of feet and a muffled cry. I winced._

_We heard scratching against the floorboards and barks. Houndooms._

_Putting down the cooking supplies, Anita pulled the shoebox out from under the bed. Seeing my bruised body from the outside was too strange to maintain my connection to Anita. I returned to my body, breathing raggedly. Anita picked me up with one hand, pulling her backpack from under her nightstand with the other._

_She unzipped her backpack, shuffled the papers and crayons in her bag around and pushed me inside. The crayons poked at my skin like needles._

_{Sorry. Dad read a book to me once. When Houndooms chased the man in the book he made lots of smells and the Houndooms never found him.}_

_Anita poured the apple juice over me, then tipped the backpack over so the crayons fell over my face. Through the unzipped backpack, I watched her pour the apple juice and the onions into the shoe box I'd lied within since Anita found me two nights ago, injured and unable to stand._

_I squirmed to get more comfortable. "Don't move, they'll hear," Anita scolded in a hoarse whisper. I stilled. The crayons had fallen over my right eye, and I could only watch Anita with my left. She stared at the shoebox, frowning with a childish pout for a moment. Then she picked up the knife and sliced her left hand._

_Pain sliced through my left three-fingered hand. I hadn't realized we were still so connected._

_We heard pounding on the stairs. Anita quickly took a handful of apple-onion with her bleeding hand and threw it around her room. She took another handful and threw it over me in the backpack. I closed my eyes to prevent the onion from stinging._

_I shifted into Anita's body. She was rolling over the onion spread over her carpeted floor, her eyes were tearing, though I wasn't sure if it was from the onion or the pain in her hand. As the door handle jiggled she put the shoebox on her head._

_The man who opened the door immediately covered his mouth and nose with his shirt. "Shit, what the…?"_

_Anita wailed, flailing her bleeding hand._

_A Houndoom entered the room and sneezed. Anita cried louder when the Pokemon neared her, putting her bleeding hand on the Houndoom's nose._

"_What are you doing to my daughter?" Anita's mother shrieked. "Get that monster away from her!"_

_The Houndoom shook his head and sniffed around the edges of the room while the creepy man dressed in black watched on. Anita's mother finally pushed past the man and scooped us up into her arms. She ran a hand through our hair._

_The Houndoom finished sniffing the room and sneezed._

_Another man dressed in the same government-looking outfit stopped outside the doorway. "Anything?" he asked._

"_No," the first man answered._

"_What about the girl's eyes? Are they purple?"_

_The first man looked at us and we huddled closer into our mother's arms, sniffling. "Didn't get a good look with her crying and all. Something light, maybe. Bloodshot, mostly."_

"_Her eyes are blue, like mine," our mother said firmly. "Now get out of my house."_

_The two men shrugged at each other and ordered their Houndooms away. Our mother sung softly to us as the front door slammed shut, leaving our house in disarray and our mother unsettled._

"I smelled like apple for weeks after. That with my apple-colored burnt fur is what earned me the nickname," I told Fiery. "I stayed… well, I'd never had anyone in my life so dedicated to me."

"Did her mother know about you?" Fiery's fur brushed against mine, giving me a brief relief from the sun's painful rays.

"Anita certainly didn't think so. I'm not so sure. Sometimes I think she suspected, but if she ever knew for certain, she kept the thoughts well hidden at the back of her mind."

We stood outside the dry cleaners. Fiery sat down, looking up at the crooked sign. "When I saw how happy my siblings were playing and training and living with you and Anita, I knew I couldn't take them away from that."

"And are you happy?"

Fiery looked at me then licked my cheek. "Yes." He walked inside.

I followed, grinning.


End file.
